Plenary Sessions
Shifting Our Lens: Neurodiversity Affirming Practice
Thursday, Oct 22 | 1:30 - 2:30 pm
This talk invites participants to rethink traditional deficit based lens and adopt a neurodiversity-affirming lens. Grounded in lived experience and practical examples, this plenary explores how reframing expectations, challenging neuronormativity, and prioritizing autonomy over compliance transforms how we support and understand neurodivergent people.
Participants will leave with a clearer understanding of neurodiversity affirming principles, the impact of language and the lens we use, and concrete ways to create environments where neurodivergent people are respected and supported.
Sonny Jane Wise
Sonny Jane Wise
Sonny Jane Wise is a neurodivergent, queer, and disabled keynote speaker, author, and advocate who leads with lived experience. Since 2018, they have built a strong national and international presence, working with schools, universities, government agencies, mental health services, and businesses to challenge deficit-based narratives of neurodivergence. Sonny is the creator of the widely recognized Neurodivergent Umbrella graphic and the author of We’re All Neurodiverse and The Neurodivergent Friendly Workbook of DBT Skills, which has sold over 100,000 copies worldwide. Drawing on lived experience and critical neurodiversity studies, Sonny delivers engaging and thought-provoking keynotes that support organizations to challenge neuronormativity and build genuinely neurodiversity-affirming spaces.