Neurodiversity Network of WNY

We absolutely enjoyed teaching these young kiddos about Neurodiversity ❤️

It fills me with such joy to watch our kids happy stim.

Seeing happy jumps, spins, flaps.
Joyful singing, humming, movements.

It doesn’t matter if it looks different.
It doesn’t matter if it falls outside the realm of neuronormativity.

Unless a stim is harmful, you don’t need to redirect it.
Our stims are important. They’re useful.

Stopping a kid who is quietly stimming in a classroom is going to reduce their capacity to engage in learning. That’s an outcome that no one wants.

Rather that trying to stop the stimming, and rather than labeling it as ‘distracting’, teachers can help the whole class understand that different people learn in different ways.

For plenty of us, stimming helps us learn.

Let’s normalise that.
Yes?

Em 🌈

$20 for adults $15 for kids 🙂 We were sent a new color option for adults: Dusty heather peach or natural tan.

The only color for youth that’s available is natural tan.

You can place an order by using this link: https://forms.gle/K8gjEtFjL5QauLrNA. All proceeds will go towards our next event with the Neurodiversity Network.

We appreciate all of our donors, volunteers, and sponsors who helped make this event possible ❤️

The Basket Raffle Winners are:
Micah Hyde Basket: Sandy Hesler
Taron Johnson Basket: Lexie Ventura
Embrace the Difference: Alexis Brown
Embrace the Difference: Alexis Brown
Hoops Basket: Moira Prister
Color Street Basket: Kadijah McKenzie
Join the Circus: David Herring

Thank you!!

We will be going live at 8am to pick our basket raffle winners! Last chance to get tickets https://www.neurodiversitynetworkofwny.org/event-details/basket-raffle-fundraiser-1

Only a few tickets remain! Join us in celebrating Juneteenth with the neurodivergent community. This sensory-friendly event is designed for children who thrive in less stimulating environments, so registration is required!! Celebrating Juneteenth is important as it marks the end of slavery in the United States and honors African American culture, history, and resilience. It is really important to us to provide sensory-friendly spaces, so that we are helping to ensure that everyone can participate comfortably and enjoy the holiday.

If your family can attend the larger Buffalo Juneteenth parade and festivities, more information is available here: [Buffalo Juneteenth](https://www.buffalojuneteenth.com/).

Here are two groups that are available for you to join:
WNY: Neurodiversity Resource Network
&
WNY Caregiver Connections (Respite, Childcare, Com Hab)

Please consider joining to help our Network grow. Thank you!

Here is our T-shirt design for the front ❤️ Artist: Alexis (https://www.instagram.com/buffalobrushstrokes?igsh=MXEzbmpqZWpyZjdhNg==)

Today’s training for Deaf Access Services (DAS) went well and there were some great conversations. If you are interested in learning more about American Sign Language (ASL) Interpreting services or remote Captioning Access Real-Time Translation (CART) services, then contact DAS for more information.

Access to ASL interpretation for people who need it is not a privilege, it is a right.

Not the same as picky eating...

Don’t forget to get your raffle tickets: https://www.neurodiversitynetworkofwny.org. Here’s one of our Featured Buffalo Bills Baskets ❤️

We are working with a wonderful artist, Alexis Lynn, that is designing art for our tshirts 😊 She will be placing “Neurodiversity Network of WNY” in the vines, but first we need to pick our favorite design! Which one do you like the most? Please comment or like the design that you think we should go with.

Following on from yesterday’s post.

I’ve added 2 different skin colours to this resource. Apologies for not including them in the first resource. I finished drawing those late last night and didn’t have it in me to work 2 more hours on it.

There aren’t any pronouns used in these cards so I haven’t added any specific non-binary versions. Either of the faces could be non-binary I think?

If you downloaded the original resource before I updated it, send me a message and I’ll email you the new one.

Here’s the link if you haven’t grabbed it yet:

https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Self-Advocacy-Cards-for-Neurodivergent-Kids-Parent-discount-11603462?st=801a350bd90c6ff762e86f5371d2cfc4

My brain is goo now.
Everything is sore.

I hope this is alright.

Em 🌈

This was our first time attending Ddday- Developmental Disability Awareness Day. We had a good time and were able to connect with some wonderful organizations that are doing great work.

We received some awesome donations and are ready to have another raffle! The Buffalo Bills Basket would make an awesome Father’s Day Gift ❤️💙❤️You can enter this raffle by visiting our website: www.NeurodiversityNetworkofWNY.org.

Good luck!

We had a great time at the HBOF annual neighborhood clean up. If you weren’t able to join this year, we hope to see you at the next one.

We are thrilled to announce our newest sponsor, People Inc. Their dedication to making a positive impact in the community is truly inspiring. We are grateful for their support and commitment to our mission. Thank you, People Inc., for caring about the community and supporting our efforts! You must register as this a sensory friendly event and there is a limited capacity. Please visit our website to register: Www.NeurodiversityNetworkofwny.org.