It's Neurodiversity Celebration Week!

At The Giggle Garden, neurodiversity isn’t just something we acknowledge—it’s at the heart of everything we do. Neurodiversity Celebration Week is an opportunity to go beyond awareness and actively shift perspectives to create a world that recognises, supports, and truly values all ways of thinking, learning, and experiencing the world.

For too long, only specific ways of thinking have been valued. Many neurodivergent individuals have grown up being told they were too much, too sensitive, or too different or that they needed to change to fit into a world that wasn’t built for them. But neurodivergent people don’t need to be ‘fixed’; they need to be accepted, accommodated, and celebrated.

What Is Neurodiversity Celebration Week?

Neurodiversity Celebration Week is a worldwide initiative to challenge stereotypes and change how neurodivergent individuals are perceived and supported. It encourages schools, workplaces, and communities to recognise the incredible strengths, talents, and contributions of neurodivergent people, while also highlighting the need for genuine inclusion. It’s a chance to move beyond labels and reframe the conversation around neurodivergence—one that focuses on strengths, not just challenges.

A Neuro-Affirming Approach Starts with Understanding

One of the most important aspects of true inclusion is ensuring the support systems around neurodivergent individuals are neuro-affirming. But what does that actually mean?

A neuro-affirming approach means:

✅ Recognising that neurodivergence is a natural part of the human experience

✅ Supporting, not suppressing, neurodivergent traits

✅ Validating neurodivergent communication styles, sensory needs, and learning methods

✅ Challenging outdated, deficit-based models of thinking

✅ Ensuring that neurodivergent individuals are the experts of their own experiences

Finding the right professionals who truly understand and support your child’s unique needs can feel overwhelming. That’s why we created The Green Flags Guide, a FREE resource filled with real insights from parents across Australia to help families identify neuro-affirming professionals.

📌 Inside, you’ll find:

✔ Practical advice based on real experiences

✔ Key "green flags" to look for when choosing therapists, educators, or support workers

✔ Actionable steps to feel more confident in your decisions

🔗 Download it for free here

For Parents Navigating a Diagnosis

Whether you or your child has recently received a diagnosis, or you’re in the process of exploring one, it can feel like there’s a mountain of information to wade through. It’s okay to feel overwhelmed, but there are incredible neuro-affirming resources that can help guide you.

Here are three must-have resources:

📣 Em Rusciano’s National Press Club Speech (2022) – A powerful and heartfelt speech about the realities of late-diagnosed ADHD and the importance of understanding and advocating for neurodivergent individuals.

🎙 Anomalous Podcast—This is a brilliant resource for those navigating a diagnosis for themselves or someone they love. This podcast is an easy-to-digest, "what now?" guide to neurodivergence, with helpful insights for both neurodivergent and neurotypical people.

📖 The Giggle Garden’s Free Resources – From our Green Flags Guide to our 36 Questions Every Parent Should Ask Support Professionals, to visual schedules and printable supports, our website is full of free, neuro-affirming resources designed to support your family’s unique journey.

Beyond This Week, How Do We Create Lasting Change?

Neurodiversity Celebration Week isn’t just about one week in March; it’s about building a world where neurodivergent people are seen, heard, and valued every single day.

How can we do that? We advocate for change, challenge outdated narratives and push for genuine inclusion in schools, workplaces, and the wider community. We educate ourselves and others, share neuro-affirming resources and learn from neurodivergent voices. Lastly, we support neurodivergent creators, educators and businesses because inclusion isn’t just about representation; it’s about action.

At The Giggle Garden, we are committed to creating a future where all little minds bloom.

This week, we’ll be sharing some of our favourite neuro-affirming resources over on our socials to help celebrate, so be sure to follow along!