Changing the narrative about autism and neurodiversity through awareness, education and engagement.

AROUND one in FIVE people are NEURODIVERgent.

“Neurodiversity may be every bit as crucial for the human race as biodiversity is for life in general. Who can say what form of wiring will prove best at any given moment?”

— Harvey Blume, The Atlantic, 1998

Although there is broad diversity across the population, some individuals have neurological variations that make it particularly challenging for their communication, self-expression and interactions with others. Neurodivergence is a broad umbrella and is not just autism. Neurological variations can include autism, ADHD, dyslexia, dyspraxia, dyscalculia, dysgraphia and tics. (However, Judy Singer, who coined the term, proposes that we are ALL neurodiverse because no two humans on the planet are exactly the same.)

The environments within which individuals with these neurovariations learn, work and live can either facilitate or inhibit their growth and development.

The purpose of this initiative is to create environments that will maximally facilitate these individuals to grow and achieve their full potential. It is about facilitating a community of practice for universities, colleges, employers and service providers to work together to create these environments and opportunities for neurodivergent young adults.

The Resources section includes a vast array of resources that have been created or curated for use by neurodivergent students, their parents and carers, employers and universities.

learn more about neurodiversity

WHY THE neurodiversity HUB?

The CHALLENGE

There are hundreds of incredibly talented neurodivergent individuals studying in our universities and TAFEs who may never make it into the workforce due to lack of opportunities, differences in communication skills or other factors.

We seem to be failing these neurodivergent young adults in at least the following three areas:

Creating supportive pathways for successfully transitioning from secondary school and taking on the challenge of university or college
Having the scaffolding in place to ensure they succeed with their studies
Providing work experience opportunities for a well-rounded outcome - so that they stack-up favourably alongside neurotypical students.

The goal

The aim of the Neurodiversity Hub is to:

Support this untapped talent to shine, through focused training programs, academic accommodations, assistive technologies and flexible study arrangements.
Link neurodivergent students with work experience, internships and employment opportunities.
Improve the employability of neurodivergent university and TAFE students, establishing a pipeline of potential candidates for employers and boosting workforce participation rates.
Continue establishing the Neurodiversity Hub through a number of universities in Australia, USA, England and Ireland.

Access some great resources

The objectives of the Neurodiversity Hub include:

For neurodivergent students

Provide programs, skills and experience to support neurodivergent students in becoming work-ready, and building connections with organisations that value their talents
Assist students in obtaining work experience and internships
Increase overall employment opportunities

For potential employers

Create a pipeline of work-ready neurodivergent talent, that are typically creative, quick learners, task-focused, attention-to-detail orientated or problem solvers
Access training in how to work more effectively with neurodiverse people, including employees, customers and suppliers
Provide greater scale and sustainability for neurodivergent employment
Reduce costs of recruitment, assessment, on-boarding and support

For UNIVERSITIES AND other PARTNERs IN THE HUB

Provide valuable opportunities for research in the area of neurodiversity
Facilitate innovation among Hub partners and collaborators

RESOURCES

These are links to some great resources for autistic students and young adults, parents and carers, employers, university staff and senior secondary school students.

for tertiary students & young adults

for employers

for universities

for secondary school students