Neurodiversity and Disability Studies Summit
Event Details
April 26th, 2024 – 1-4pm
Furcolo Hall (and Zoom)
We are thrilled to announce that we will be hosting a summit focused on neurodiversity and disability studies at UMass Amherst this spring! We will have a poster session of undergraduate and graduate student projects, oral presentations from alumni and adjunct faculty, a keynote presentation and discussion, and finally breakout groups focused on advocacy
Schedule
Poster Session
Undergraduate and graduate students are invited to present a poster (4×6) on a disability or neurodiversity related topic. Projects can include theses, research studies, independent studies, course projects, creative projects, and more! Posters submitted to the conference organizers will be printed at no cost to the student.
Welcome Address
Capria Berry (they/them) is the instructor for Disability Identity: Intersections of Race, Gender, and Sexuality at UMass Amherst and Assistant Director of the Martin Luther King Jr. Scholars Program at NYU and Doctoral Student in Higher Education Leadership at Colorado State University. Capria was selected as a 2022 Pedagogy Lab Fellow with the Center for Black, Brown, and Queer Studies and 2023 Point Foundation BIPOC Scholar. They recently completed a two-year term as Chair for the Coalition for Disability within ACPA- College Student Educators International.
Capria has participated in the leadership of disability-related committees throughout their higher education career to better meet the needs of disabled community members in the college context. Capria believes in the power of students and staff to co-create educational spaces as inclusive, anti-oppressive, and affirming communities. They will give a welcome and introduction to neurodiversity and disability studies.
Oral Presentations
Neurodivergent Sex (Ariel Pliskin, MSW, LICSW)
This presentation will review the research on autistic sexuality and gender to reveal parallels between approaches that pathologize sex and those that pathologize neurodivergence. By elevating the voices of marginalized populations on a taboo topic, researchers, health providers, and community members will learn insights to better meet neurodivergent people’s needs while contributing to a more just and inclusive society for all. Ariel Pliskin (they/them) is the instructor of the Autism class at UMass Amherst and the Relationship & Sex Therapy Program Manager at Advance Psychotherapy Practice. Ariel is passionate about integrating evidence-based practice with their lived experience as an autistic-ADHD social worker. Ariel’s publications and groups contribute to the emerging field of neurodiversity-affirming psychotherapy.
Becoming the “Proper” Disabled Student: How Academic Access is Negotiated in the Classroom (Griffin Leistinger, M.P.P.A.)
Griffin Leistinger (any pronoun) currently serves as the Assistant Director of Accessibility Resources and Services at Hampshire College. They also teach disability policy focused courses at UMass Amherst, including International Disability Policy, Disability Advocacy and its History, and Special Topics in Disability Policy. They are twice alumnus from UMass Amherst, including a Bachelor’s of Science (Psychology & DDHS) in 2018 and a Master’s in Public Policy and Administration in 2023. They will be presenting their research on disability accommodations, examining the nuanced ways that students, faculty, and staff leverage their power to negotiate access within the classroom. Informed by their professional experiences, Griffin will also discuss the ways that academic support programs targeted at disabled (often neurodivergent) students may incentivize these students to navigate higher education institutions as “proper” disabled subjects, rather than encourage them to challenge deeply rooted ableist foundations of higher education.
Keynote Presentation
Self-Advocate, Advocate, Ally, Accomplice: Coming Together to Create New Paradigms around Neurodiversity (Jennifer Brunton, Ph.D.)
Despite increasing efforts to build awareness and acceptance around neurodiversity, our interactions, workplaces, schools, environments, research, and more continue to other, marginalize, and hinder Neurodivergent people. Autistic writer, editor, consultant, speaker, and activist Jennifer Brunton (she/they), Ph.D.’s Keynote, Self-Advocate, Advocate, Ally, Accomplice: Coming Together to Create New Paradigms around Neurodiversity, will offer a call to radically affirming, empowering, genuinely inclusive allyship and self-advocacy for Neurodivergent and Neurotypical students, professionals, educators, and others. She will discuss ways to truly live our inclusive values and uplift intersectionality in our daily lives, and address the ableism, discrimination, and stereotypes that pervade professional practices.
Jennifer Brunton, Ph.D., is the co-author, with Jenna Gensic, M.A., of The #ActuallyAutistic Guide to Advocacy: Step-by-Step Advice on How to Ally and Speak Up with Autistic People and the Autism Community, and the forthcoming #ActuallyAutistic Guide to Building Independence: Practical, Step-By-Step Advice for Autistic Youth and Those Who Care About Them (Hachette/Jessica Kingsley, 2024). Copies of the #ActuallyAutistic Guide to Advocacy will be available for discounted purchase. Dr. Brunton will be available to sign copies after the keynote.
Breakout Discussions
To conclude our summit, we will have breakout discussions organized by several advocacy groups on campus. This will give students, faculty, staff and community members the opportunity to connect and translate new ideas and mindsets into allyship and advocacy action.
Accessibility Information
Furcolo Hall and all of the spaces used for this event are wheelchair accessible. There is push button access to the restrooms. Presentations will be live captioned through remote CART services. Vegan and gluten free snacks and treats will be available. If you have airborne allergies that would inform the catering order, please contact ddhs@umass.edu as soon as possible. Guests will be asked not to wear perfumes or other strong scents. Digital versions of the PowerPoint presentation slides and posters will be posted to the website.
Sponsor Information
This summit is supported by: Office of Equity and Inclusion, Developmental Disabilities and Human Services Program, Psychological and Brain Science Department, Hampshire College Office of Accessibility Resources and Services