Access, Agency, and Wellbeing: Possibilities for Neurodiversity–Affirming Classrooms & Transformational Teaching

September 12, 2025 - Kara was a keynote speaker at the 14th International Autism Congress, Autism Europe.

Imagine a classroom where there is no 'normal' - where all brains are expected, planned for, and welcomed from the outset. Imagine a place where all students are taught various ways different brains process and retain information, where they are encouraged to try brain-based strategies and accessibility tools, and where self-advocacy is fostered and met with responsiveness. This engaging keynote will help teachers to envision possibilities for supporting the range of learner variability in any classroom. Attendees will come away with insights into neurodiverse learning processes and many neurodiversity-affirming strategies and approaches they can easily add to what they’re already doing well. Weaving together research, real teaching anecdotes, and neurodivergent voices, Dr. Kara Dymond will challenge myths that get in the way of supporting neurodivergent learners and share empowering changes she has made to her pedagogy—such as getting rid of rewards and punishments and emphasizing student-set goals and self-assessments—and the impacts on self and students. This session will explore these transformational shifts and the interconnectedness of her role as a special educator of young autistic students; her own late diagnosis as autistic and ADHD; and her work as a teacher educator and educational researcher. Join Kara in envisioning the potential of educational spaces designed with student access, agency, and wellbeing in mind.