20% of people are neurodiverse

From Stigma to Strength: The Neurodiversity Project focuses on neurodiversity awareness, appreciation, and advocacy. Including interviews from neurodiverse students, a learning specialist, and a neuropsychologist this project attempts to reduce the stigma that surrounds neurodiversity. Our world needs to stop focusing on the debilitative aspects of neurodiversity and rather the strengths that it brings to the table—From Stigma to Strength: The Neurodiversity Project shows exactly why.

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These are their stories.

about the documentary

From Stigma to Strength: The Neurodiversity Project focuses on neurodiversity awareness, appreciation, and advocacy. Including interviews from neurodiverse students, a learning specialist and a neuropsychologist this project attempts to reduce the stigma that surrounds neurodiversity. Our world needs to stop focusing on the debilitative aspects of neurodiversity and rather the strengths that it brings to the table—From Stigma to Strength: The Neurodiversity Project shows exactly why.

  • “At its core neurodiversity is just a set of words. A set of symptoms that can allow people to have clarity on the way they live their life.”

    - Alex

  • “It’s not that we need to change the system for some people. We need to make the system more flexible so that we no longer need to split hairs between who has a learning difference and who doesn’t. We need to make it accessible to everyone.”

    - Karen Dearing

  • “I think of so many students who spent years thinking they were secretly stupid. That is almost a universal expereince for poeple who are diagnosed fairly late in life.”

    - Winifred Montgomery

  • “I suffered not because being autistic is a bad thing, but because when I found out I was competing with Rain Man and I was trying to win. People assume that one portrayal of a disability or condition, whether neurodiversity or otherwise, is the portrayal.”

    - Ryan

  • “I love the fact that I don’t see things one way. Ever.”

    - Alex

  • “I have come to realize that my brain is awesome and needing extra support is not a bad thing, it's just a thing. Just because I need that extra support doesn’t mean that I can’t succeed or that I can’t go far. I can do really amazing things and many of those amazing things happen just because I have that extra support to succeed.”

    - Alex

  • “We just don't think the same.”

    - Sav

  • “Thinking about thinking is a powerful tool. It’s the greatest gift you can get to understand how your brain works.”

    - Winifred Montgomery

  • “There was a part of me that was kind of scared to get a diagnosis…I had to switch my brain from there’s something wrong to there’s something different and different is fine.”

    - Raya

  • “I think every human in our society has the right to learn and education is a fundamental right. And that education should work for everyone’s brain.”

    - Raya

  • “I don’t I really understood what learning differences were cause no one really talked about them. No one really talked about it so I just thought I’m not learning this and it’s my fault.”

    - Alexa

I’m Ivy Kilar. I’m a senior in high school and I have dyslexia and an attention deficit. I was diagnosed in the 7th grade after years of overworking myself to keep up with my peers. I first got involved in neurodiversity advocacy when I joined my school’s learning strategies and support center my freshman year of high school. I’m really passionate about spreading awareness to make school environments more accessible and inclusive for everyone. There is so much stigma that exists around neurodiversity and my goal is to help our world shift from viewing it as a disability to a strength. 

about me

frequently asked questions

  • Neurodiversity is a concept that recognizes and celebrates the natural variation in neurological traits and conditions among individuals. It emphasizes that different ways of thinking and experiencing the world, often associated with conditions such as autism, ADHD, dyslexia, and others, are equally valid and should be respected and accommodated.

  • Being an ally involves listening, learning, and taking action to support and advocate for neurodivergent individuals. This may include offering support, challenging stereotypes, and promoting inclusion.