Intersectional Neurodiversity and Disability Reading Groups

I organise and facilitate the Intersectional Neurodiversity and Disability Reading Groups. They have / do / will run in various forms. Currently (2024) the ADHD Reading Group runs on both the 1st & 3rd Friday of the month (3-4.30pm UK). In 2025 the Eco-Ability and the Cripping Pedagogy Reading Groups will run. They continue to have an intersectional emphasis, and will offer readings from disability, neurodiversity, sick, mad and adjacent studies. You can find an an archive with reading groups’ past readings on their respective pages, which some use as a resource.

Initially the Intersectional Neurodiversity RG met in person in London (UK). The Feminist (later Intersectional) Disability Reading Group started on online over Zoom. Since the pandemic, all reading groups have run and will continue to run online over Zoom. As they have an international audience now, they will stay online. To attend, people need to register for the mailing list.

Spin-offs

Sometimes spin-off events are organised, such as two large webinars and a research project:

  • The flipped webinar Intersectional Approaches to Disability and Race: this ​consisted of blog posts (online since 1 July) and the online Q&A panels took place 9 July 2021.

Accessibility and inclusivity

The reading groups are neurodivergent-led and disabled-led and they are organised with the objective to make them as accessible and inclusive to neurodivergent and disabled participants as possible, and to make accessibility and inclusivity norm – not exception.

For instance, as a busy chat makes meetings inaccessible for screen readers, the public chat function is disabled. A busy chat also makes it difficult for neurodivergent folks to concentrate; on the other hand, not everyone likes to or can contribute by voice. So participants can choose to vocalise their contributions and/or write them in the chat to the facilitator (me) and I will read the contribution out loud – both are welcome. At the same time, not everyone wants to actively contribute, and that is fine too. As long as I know who is attending, people can have their camera on/off and participate as much/little as they wish.

At the same time, a meeting is neither accessible nor inclusive if other inequalities and power dynamics are not considered – i.e. if disability and neurodiversity are not considered intersectionally.

So social justice in all its forms is central to the facilitation. Inclusively, participants are expected to consider (their) privilege too.

For more details, see the ground rules page and the facilitation & accessibility page. Agreement with both is a requirement for attendance.

About: Dr Dyi Huijg is a Leverhulme Early Career Fellow at the University of Roehampton. Her research focusses on ADHD women and intersectional injustice, intersectional agency and more. Continue reading ....

Dr Dyi Dieuwertje Huijg