Marsden Celebrates Neurodiversity

While the official Neurodiversity Celebration Week was earlier in the year, this week Marsden is making neurodiversity awareness a whole-school focus by celebrating the many strengths and talents that come from thinking and perceiving the world differently.

Neurodiversity describes the idea that people experience and interact with the world around them in many different ways, and that there is no one ‘right’ way of thinking, learning, and behaving.

Marsden’s goal for this week is for students learn more about neurodiversity, and for its neurodivergent students to develop a more positive perception of their own unique traits and skills such as creativity, innovation, ability to think outside-the-box, problem-solving skills, unique insights, and perspectives, as well as perseverance and resilience. Marsden’s well-established Visible WellbeingTM approach provides a framework to identify and celebrate individual character strengths and change the way neurodiversity is perceived.

Marsden has been leading the charge in its approach to learning support for neurodiverse students. The Arrowsmith Program®, introduced by the school in 2014, is designed specifically for those with neurocognitive differences such as dyslexia, dyscalculia, auditory processing difficulties. Using principles of neuroplasticity, this programme employs techniques that strengthen pathways in the brain rather than focusing on traditional coping skills, and it has been transformative for Arrowsmith students. In February this year, Marsden was the first in school in the world to implement the Arrowsmith Whole Cohort Program, which introduces Arrowsmith principles to all Primary students in Years 2-6, with the ultimate goal of improving foundational learning capacities.

Neurodiversity Week at Marsden is an opportunity to reflect on the rich diversity that surrounds us and to demonstrate kindness, tolerance and acceptance. Students are taking part in a range of activities throughout the week, including a ‘non-uniform day’ to raise funds for Dyslexia Foundation of New Zealand and Autism New Zealand.

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