A new club has been created at DGN surrounding the idea of neurodiversity—the range of differences in individual brain function and behavioral traits—and kicked off on Jan 8. 

Amy Simler, the teacher sponsor for the club, was excited to get started with neurodiversity and provide an opportunity for neurodivergent students to learn more about how the brain works. 

“Neurodiversity Club is a group whose goal is to educate about [and] create a space for individuals who identify as [having] autism, ADHD, dyslexia, down syndrome, learning disabilities, and many more. By doing this, we hope to develop understanding and acceptance of neurodivergent folk and all of their attributes in our school and outer community,” Simler said. 

Simler has always found neurodiversity to be interesting and her background makes her a good fit for the club. 

“I have been involved in Student Activities all of my teaching career… I value the importance of all students feeling that they have a place in the school community. A place that creates connections and provides opportunities for contributing, learning, and leading in our community,” Simler said. 

One of the club’s leaders, Kelsey McCann, came up with the idea last year—but now it has come to fruition.

“We realized that, at North, there isn’t a whole lot of representation for different neurotypes. We felt that, because of this lack of representation, we should create a space where others feel safe to share experiences and educate others about neurodiversity,” McCann said. 

With the club starting up last month, Simler says members should expect an introduction to neurodiversity itself to kick things off. 

“Our first plan is to create a space for students to come together and feel comfortable in a neurodiverse group. Our second goal is to develop an activity or video to help the DGN community begin to understand what Neurodiversity is, who identifies as Neurodivergent and that we are a neurodiverse community,” Simler said. 

McCann is extremely excited to finally start the club and she is looking forward to meeting other people within DGN that have had similar experiences. 

“Being able to educate neurotypical people about neurodiversity and different ways of thinking is definitely something we’re looking forward to. We are excited to be able to share the message that neurological differences should be celebrated rather than stigmatized and frowned upon,” McCann mentioned. 

If you are interested in being a part of the neurodiversity club, use their Google Classroom code hlo6h37.