My vision for this was to create a collective of neurodivergent teachers in Saskatchewan who would step forward as thought leaders within their school communities, demonstrating that lived experience is a vital part of the narrative. I have not had much engagement. This could be due to a lack of visibility. On that note, if you are good at getting something seen, perhaps this is how you could contribute to collective efforts. However, it could also be because educators as a whole already have too much on their plates to take on anything else.
My concern is that the lack of engagement stems from fear. Feeling one is not psychologically safe to disclose one’s neurodivergence is a reality we see with students every day. It makes sense that if schools do not feel like psychologically safe spaces to disclose neurodivergence for students, neurodivergent teachers would also not feel safe.
My initial goals were to promote and develop a fully functioning collective of neurodivergent Saskatchewan teachers who support neuroaffirming and trauma-informed practices. I realize now that I may need to expand the scope to a nationwide approach, which should hopefully increase engagement. I do not want to abandon the idea of being a collective. I do not want this to end up being me talking to myself, with the occasional private message about how I am being watched and appreciated. I do not want this to be about my voice alone. There are many neurodivergent educators in Canada. I want to promote psychological safety so neurodivergent educators may step into this identity without fear or embarrassment.
I initially named this group Ask a Neurodivergent Teacher Saskatchewan, or A.N.T.S. Since I think I need to expand the scope, I will change the name to Ask Neurodivergent Teachers (still ANTS as an abbreviation).
On the other hand, I think I need to narrow the overall vision while expanding the scope. My goal was to start a non-profit organization within a year. I think that since I cannot get traction with engagement, this is not a practical goal. I think that until I see some engagement, I cannot move forward with this part of the vision. I need to work on making the concept of a collective flourish before I do anything to formalize it as a non-profit organization.
