Speaking Engagements

Speaking & Presenting Endorsements

“Kara was a delight to work with in planning our employee learning webinar on Autism and Allyship, and the session itself flew by. Many of our employees provided the feedback that Kara was so engaging and that we could have used more time. I highly recommend Kara as a speaker - she is extremely knowledgeable about the content, but just as equally important she is an engaging and insightful speaker!”

-Laura, Human Resources professional in a large national insurance group
"Dr. Dymond is a gifted lecturer. I had the opportunity to see her teach first hand when I invited her to be a guest for one of my classes. The class she ran was engaging, informative, and impactful. Most importantly, it modeled many of the key pedagogical points that she was making regarding inclusive practice. It was extremely well-received by the students, with most identifying it as one of the most helpful experiences in our class overall. Finally, I am very excited about the course Dr. Dymond is seeking to teach this summer. As someone who also continues to teach in a K12 setting, I am perpetually in awe of her ability to harness theoretical work while keeping it grounded and contextualized in the practical realities and needs of classroom teachers. To me, the course she has designed exemplifies the unique intersection of higher education and K12 awareness and acumen that she embodies."

- A sessional lecturer in a graduate teacher education program
"As 2nd year MT students, we have had the privilege of learning from many wonderful professors who explain what good teaching involves (and why) while helping us experience that same good teaching. It is a beautiful thing to feel yourself learning, with metacognitive awareness adding depth to each ‘ah-ha’ moment as you gain confidence in both yourself and human learning in general. Dr. Kara Dymond exemplifies the very best of this teaching excellence. When we consider neuroplasticity and think about how much our brains have changed since starting this program, Dr. Dymond has made the most significant contributions towards shaping and improving our understanding of why it’s true that every student can learn (and how to help them get there). ... A big part of our motivation for becoming teachers has been to become ‘a safe adult in the room’ for students. We’ve come to understand that what constitutes ‘a safe adult’ will be different depending on the student and their unique needs. Dr. Dymond’s course on ‘Accessible Education & Classroom Neurodiversity’ transformed how we define ‘safe adult’ to include some incredibly crucial pedagogical practices and philosophies. Even though we took this course as an elective, we feel our teacher education would have been incomplete without it. If every teacher had Dr. Kara Dymond’s insights on what different brains need, schools and subsequently society would be a safer and more welcoming place for everyone, and especially for neurodiverse individuals and communities. Her specific insights and continuously embodied research are absolutely critical for helping teacher candidates avoid perpetuating ableist and oppressive norms in education (like eye contact as proof that someone is listening, which is harmful for students who find eye contact distracting and/or uncomfortable)."

-Excerpt from the Teaching Excellence award nomination letter signed by 21 graduate students

Virtual Presentations, Panels, & Interviews

Alliance Against Seclusion and Restraint Podcast

49th Annual Conference, Institut des troubles d'apprentissage

48th Annual Conference, Institut des troubles d'apprentissage

Preparing for a Neuro-Inclusive Holiday Season

Back to School Speaker Series 2023

Au-Some Conference 2022

Back to School Speaker Series 2022

Back to School Speaker Series 2021

University of Toronto Lecture - July 2021

Autism Canada Speaker Series - Apr 2021

Mind Your Autistic Brain Podcast - July 2021

Back to School Webinar Series 2022

Autism Canada Podcast - Dec 2020

Pembroke Publishers Webinar - Oct 2020

Upcoming Engagements

Access, Agency, and Wellbeing: Possibilities for Neurodiversity-Affirming Classrooms & Transformational Teaching - September 2025 - invited keynote speaker, 14th Autism Europe International Congress 2025
Achieving Access, Agency, and Wellbeing in Employment Panel – Invited Speaker, 14th Autism Europe International Congress Fringe Event
Neurodiversity-Affirming and Accessible Teaching Practices – Invited Expert, UTM Health & Counselling Centre, University of Toronto Mississauga Campus

Recent Engagements

Neurodiversity-Affirming Learning Spaces: Collectively Reimagining and Enacting Possibilities for Accessibility & Inclusion - June 2025 - invited speaker, Strengthening Accessibility & Inclusion within Professional Programs Conference, University of Toronto
Reimagining teacher education: Modeling accessible and inclusive pedagogies in collaboration with teacher candidates” - May/June 2025 - Canadian Society for the Study of Education 53rd Annual Conference
‘We’ve Been Expecting You’: Striving to model accessible and inclusive teacher education - - April 2025 - virtual poster presentation, American Educational Research Association Annual Meeting
“We've been expecting you”: Exploring universal design for learning and accessibility in teacher education (virtual) - 52nd Annual Conference, June 2024 - Canadian Society for the Study of Education
“We’ve been expecting you”: Exploring UDL in creating accessibility and engagement in graduate professional education (virtual) - May 2024, University of Waterloo Teaching & Learning Conference
49th Annual Conference, March 2024 - Learning Disabilities Institute
48th Annual Conference, March 2023 - Learning Disabilities Institute
Reading for the Love of It, February 2023 - The East York-Scarborough Reading Association
International Autism Symposium, November 2022 - Geneva Centre for Autism