The Neurodiversity Initiative: Towards a Holistic Approach to Inclusive Tertiary Education
Tracks
Prince - In-Person Only
| Monday, September 28, 2026 |
| 2:20 PM - 2:40 PM |
| Prince Room |
Overview
Dr Kristy Seymour, Griffith College Australia
Key Learnings
1.Identifiying the gaps in knowledge and infrastructure within the overall learning environment.
2. The importance of Neurodivergent leadership in making the tertiary sector more accessible.
3. How can we share resources and support each other as a tertiary sector to ensure an industry wide approach?
Speaker
Dr Kristy Seymour
Lecturer
Griffith College Australia
The Neurodiversity Initiative: Towards a Holistic Approach to Inclusive Tertiary Education
Presentation Overview
Experiences of tertiary education settings for neurodivergent students differ significantly from their neurotypical peers (Fabri et.al, 2022). Statistics suggest that autistic students, are less likely to finish a tertiary qualification beyond secondary schooling (Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2022). The recent National Autism Strategy proposes under a key theme of ‘Better quality of life and improved living standards’: “a commitment to ensuring that autistic students are enabled to thrive in education and employment” (National Autism Strategy, 2025). As such within our organisation we identified a need to develop a holistic approach to supporting our neurodivergent students to ensure a positive learning experience across all aspects of their study life.
This paper outlines the first stage of our Neurodiversity Initiative, which aims to implement a “whole of campus” approach to improving the overall education experience for Neurodivergent students at Griffith College, Australia. Essential to this initiative is meaningful policy change and consistency in practice to enable authentic inclusion.
There are three focus areas:
Academic Staff: Increase knowledge and awareness of how autism and ADHD can present in students within the class setting. Developing methods and resources they can use to provide more inclusive and neuro-affirming learning spaces.
Student Peer Group: ‘Find your tribe’ is a peer-based support group aimed at providing opportunities for ND students to connect with like-minded peers. It fosters a community-based environment where students can connect with each other and develop social opportunities to increase their sense of belonging.
Mentoring Program: A peer-mentoring program, where fellow Neurodivergent students can offer mentoring support to new students at the College.
This paper will demonstrate how the Neurodiversity Initiative has worked so far to create a sense of belonging, representation and a shift in campus culture for success and retention for Neurodivergent tertiary students.
This paper outlines the first stage of our Neurodiversity Initiative, which aims to implement a “whole of campus” approach to improving the overall education experience for Neurodivergent students at Griffith College, Australia. Essential to this initiative is meaningful policy change and consistency in practice to enable authentic inclusion.
There are three focus areas:
Academic Staff: Increase knowledge and awareness of how autism and ADHD can present in students within the class setting. Developing methods and resources they can use to provide more inclusive and neuro-affirming learning spaces.
Student Peer Group: ‘Find your tribe’ is a peer-based support group aimed at providing opportunities for ND students to connect with like-minded peers. It fosters a community-based environment where students can connect with each other and develop social opportunities to increase their sense of belonging.
Mentoring Program: A peer-mentoring program, where fellow Neurodivergent students can offer mentoring support to new students at the College.
This paper will demonstrate how the Neurodiversity Initiative has worked so far to create a sense of belonging, representation and a shift in campus culture for success and retention for Neurodivergent tertiary students.
Biography
Kristy Seymour is a neurodivergent circus artist and academic. Her research areas are autism, inclusive education, circus, identity and belonging. Kristy has led the field in circus and autism, creating her own circus school, Circus Stars (2013-2024), the topic of her TEDx 2017 talk. She received the Autism Queensland Recognition Award for Community Schools in 2017. A lecturer in Sociology, Media Studies and Equity and Diversity at Griffith College, she works to create inclusive learning environments for neurodivergent tertiary students. Kristy received her second Autism Queensland Recognition Award (2025), for her work and advocacy for Neurodivergent students in Higher education.
