DEI encourages departments and colleges throughout Rowan University to start a book study with their respective colleagues, to continually learn and engage in various topics surrounding DEI. Each month, we will be highlighting DEI Book Studies throughout campus!
College: College of Education in partnership with the Office of Accessibility Services
Facilitators: Drs. Michelle Damiani & Amy Accardo
Book: Neuotribes: The Legacy of Autism and the Future of Neurodiversity - Steve Silberman
Hosted by the College of Education in partnership with the Office of Accessibility Services, faculty and staff are reading NeuroTribes: The Legacy of Autism and the Future of Neurodiversity by Steve Silberman. Our NeuroTribes Book Club was representative of faculty and staff from various areas of the university. Our shared commitment to supporting students in informed and responsive ways led us to participate in this group. Disability has, and continues to be, constructed as inferior in society. This has led to deficit-driven approaches to disability in education which neglect both disability and neurodiversity as natural and/or valuable aspects of diversity.
“One of the most promising developments since the publication of “The Geek Syndrome” has been the emergence of the concept of neurodiversity: the notion that conditions like autism, dyslexia, and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) should be regarded as naturally occurring cognitive variations with distinctive strengths that have contributed to the evolution of technology and culture rather than mere checklists of deficits and dysfunctions.”
― Steve Silberman, NeuroTribes
Interested, but short on time right now? Check out the author’s talk linked here.