Westford Academy is holding a Neurodiversity Celebration Week from Monday, Mar. 17 to Friday, Mar. 21. Each day has a specific theme for students to dress up in order to elevate uniqueness and variety amongst the community.
Dean Amanda Welch is primarily responsible for drawing up the idea of a spirit week as well as the informational paragraphs describing each day’s theme. The theme on Monday was Mix & Match to show the variation of neurodiversity, and Tuesday’s theme is Tie-Dye to show the beauty of the broad spectrum of the human mind. There are still three days and three opportunities to dress up in the week: Worthy Day Wednesday, dressing to show off what people enjoy; Superhero Thursday, dressing as a superhero; and Sensory-Friendly Friday, wearing comfortable clothing.
Although this is the first time the school is having an official Neurodiversity Celebration Week, WA has celebrated neurodiversity week in other ways in the past. Last year, the school put up informational posters.
Provided by Amanda Welch.
The WA community has promoted inclusivity and awareness in other forms year-round as well. Best Buddies, founded over a decade ago, was intended to foster a sense of belonging and happiness for all students, both neurodivergent and neurotypical, through activities and club meetings during the school year.
“We create an environment for [everyone] to thrive and make lifelong friendships,” Best Buddies junior officer and sophomore Amelia Brown said.
Best Buddies also hosts an annual dance party each year in the WA cafe, where all students are invited to attend.
Additionally, the Westford Academy Student Council (STUCO), in partnership with Best Buddies, hosted the town’s first Polar Plunge to raise money to improve the quality of sports for athletes with intellectual developmental disabilities (IDDs).
WA has expanded its unified athletics in the past few years as well, with Unified Track and Unified Basketball gaining widespread attention. Westford Public schools also has an 18-22 program, now called ROUTES, for students with IDDs to graduate into.
“No two students are alike,” Welch said. “Everyone thinks differently and processes differently. It’s important to celebrate neurodiversity and accept everyone not just for who they are, but as they are.”
