Forging a Path in Neurodiversity

BY ANNA BASINET ’24

It was a Tuesday night, and I was asked to lead a dance class for Abilis in the GCDS gyms; Abilis is a non-profit that provides services to individuals with special needs. I had never worked with this population and had no idea what to expect. How hard should I make it? Do I teach them a combination? Are they able to stretch? I made a playlist with a few songs and decided to take it minute by minute, reading the room and meeting them where they were in their abilities.

Before the class, Ms. Donnalley told me that their attention span is usually limited and that I should expect the class to last for 30 minutes. What if I couldn’t even get their attention for one song? I decided I could only find out if I tried, so I pressed play on the night that shaped the rest of my high school experience.

Fast forward 30 minutes, and I was still getting song suggestions, follow-the-leader volunteers, and dance move ideas from the group. I realized that my assumption about their inability to pay attention or follow a dance combination was representative of the commonly held stereotypes of the neurodiverse population. I shared this opinion with Ms. Donnalley, who completely agreed and proposed that I create my own Intersession to educate students on neurodiverse people. We immediately began to visualize what these three weeks in January could look like, and I was filled with excitement.

PROJECT TYPICAL INTERSESSION

I was the first student in the Upper School to create an Intersession. I called it Project Typical, challenging students to think about what the neurological adjective “typical” really means in society. Five months later, every hour for three weeks was scheduled with valuable discussions, lessons, and experiences. We met with experts like Temple Grandin, a well-known individual with autism and a prominent advocate for the humane treatment of livestock for slaughter, and author of more than 33 books on animal behavior and activism for the autistic population. We volunteered frequently with Abilis and led a lesson for the 6th graders about neurodiversity. These were the most rewarding three weeks of my life. Project Typical was a small step in my educational and service journey. It was the supportive team of teachers around me who ultimately motivated me to be my best self both in the classroom and while volunteering. With the foundation of GCDS, the administration, and the faculty, I was able to customize my academic coursework, specifically through the offering of an Independent Study. I have always loved to observe the academic and behavioral development process of children. In my junior year, I decided to apply for an Independent Study on early childhood development. I visited Ms. Schoen’s Pre-K class at least once a week, joining in on their lessons, leading some of my own, and observing peerto- peer social interactions. This fueled my interest in this area of study and allowed me to connect with younger students and Lower School faculty, expanding my relationships at GCDS. I presented my final project to the Pre-K team on the benefits of a therapeutically integrated classroom that combines occupational therapy with traditional elementary education.

INDEPENDENT STUDY

I took the elective Neuroscience and decided to do an Independent Study on the advanced neuroscience of early childhood development. My course advisor and Upper School Science Teacher, Devika Bodas, assisted me with my research and provided scientific research review articles. She is one of the teachers who has left an impact on me as a learner and has given me the confidence to continue in this field. I read “NeuroTribes: The Legacy of Autism and the Future of Neurodiversity” by Steve Silberman. After finishing the book, reached out to the author to participate in a Zoom session with the Project Typical Intersession. A few months later, we spoke with him and heard about his experience as a researcher in the field of neurodiversity and what the future holds for autism spectrum disorder diagnoses and treatment. The final product of my senior independent study was a research review on the comorbidity of autism and epilepsy. I used my literature review skills from my statistics class to write a professional article, which I hope to get published shortly

VALUABLE THINKING

Courses such as Statistics, Psychology, Advanced Anthropology: Topics in Social Analysis, Advanced Biology, and Neuroscience focused on different aspects of human understanding and behavior. Reflecting on my academic career at GCDS, I developed research, observation, advocacy, and leadership skills that laid a foundation for my future progress in college and beyond. Without the encouragement and help from my teachers, I would not have had the confidence to lead an Intersession, apply for Independent Studies, or present my research in front of grade-level teams. My achievements were celebrated by teachers who were willing to read and edit a research article written for another class or allow me to take their assignment in a different direction to fulfill my interests.

GCDS values core ways that students become valuable thinkers; these are known as the Portrait of a Learner Capacities. Two of these have stuck with me throughout my four years: 1) Understanding how students learn and knowing how to direct their own learning; 2) Engaging in their communities as empathetic and active citizens.

At the end of each year, students are asked to do a final presentation to their parents and advisor reflecting on their learning. This reflection challenges students to understand what it means for them to be a “deep thinker,” who directs their own learning across all subject matters. As I write, I have opened my Google site, which contains all four end-of-year presentations I have done during my time at GCDS. I am overwhelmed with gratitude for my experience, pride in the work I have done, and appreciation for having a visual record of my academic progress throughout high school. Clicking through each class, grade level, and summary, there is not one letter or percentage grade included. This leads me to the final lesson I want to leave you: at GCDS, it is not the red-penned percentage marked in the top right corner of your paper or the definitive transcript you submit to colleges that matters, but rather the teachers who have relentlessly advocated for you, the familial community you have been a part of, the lifelong friendships you have made, and the lessons you have learned in and out of the classroom. These truly encapsulate the meaning of being a lifelong Tiger.

From the outside looking in, you can never understand the feeling of being a Tiger, and from the inside looking out, you can never describe the feeling of being a Tiger. I so cherish the community, the friends, and the lessons—all the finest of their kind. I will forever believe the students of the Greenwich Country Day School are the most fortunate learners in the world. Once our present becomes our past, our time at GCDS will always be carried with us into our future.