Dr. Sarah E. Silverman (Independent Scholar, Educator, and Consultant)

As part of the 2025 SoTL Speaker Series at Yorkville U + TFS, CTEI was honoured to host Dr. Sarah E. Silverman for her workshop, An Introduction to Neurodiversity for Educators: History and Applications to Our Teaching.

Neurodiversity, or the naturally occurring variation in human cognition, is becoming a popular topic in higher education and adjacent fields as more of our students identify as “neurodivergent” and neurodiversity gains recognition as an important component of inclusive teaching efforts. But what is neurodiversity, and what is the history and political importance of this concept? This workshop introduced educators to the basic terminology of the Neurodiversity paradigm (including the terms “neurodivergent” and “neurotypical”) as well as the history of Neurodiversity as a disability rights movement with roots in the Autism rights movement. This participatory workshop offered attendees opportunities to reflect on their own experiences with neurodiversity in and out of the classroom and to consider what neurodiversity-informed teaching looks like in their own fields.

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• Additional information, research, and scholarship:
  • Google Doc of Slide Deck: An Introduction to Neurodiversity for Educators – Presented at Yorkville University and Toronto Film School
  • Google Doc of Handout: An Introduction to Neurodiversity for Educators – Yorkville University and Toronto Film School – November 17, 2025
  • Dr. Sarah E. Silverman’s Website: Sarah E. Silverman | Educator and Consultant
  • “The Asterisk to ‘Active Learning'” (2024, May) by Sarah Silverman (Beyond the Scope, Dr. Sarah’s newsletter focusing on pedagogy, accessibility, and disability studies)
  • “Discussion Protocols: In Defense of a ‘Script'” (2024, June) by Sarah Silverman (Beyond the Scope, Dr. Sarah’s newsletter focusing on pedagogy, accessibility, and disability studies)
  • “More than Accessibility: A Call for Disability Literacy” (2023) by Ada Hubrig (The Sandbox, vol. 1, iss. 1)
  • “Care Work through Course Design: Shifting the Labor of Resilience” (2022) by sarah madoka currie and Ada Hubrig (Composition Studies, vol. 50, no. 2)
  • Autistic Community and the Neurodiversity Movement: Stories from the Frontline (2020), edited by Steven K. Kapp – open access book
    • A couple key chapters within:
      • Laura A. Tisoncik’s “Autistics.Org and Finding Our Voices as an Activist Movement”
      • Martijn Dekker’s “From Exclusion to Acceptance: Independent Living on the Autistic Spectrum”
  • Neuroqueer Heresies: Notes on the Neurodiversity Paradigm, Autistic Empowerment, and Postnormal Possibilities (2021), by Nick Walker
  • “Neurodiversity: Some Basic Terms & Definitions” – from Neuroqueer: The Writings of Dr. Nick Walker (website)
  • “Throw Away the Master’s Tools: Liberating Ourselves from the Pathology Paradigm” – from Neuroqueer: The Writings of Dr. Nick Walker (website)
  • “Identity-First Language” – ASAN (Autistic Self Advocacy Network)
  • And Dr. Sarah’s handout (also linked above) includes many, many more books, posts, articles, and wider resources in its “Resource Guide” – be sure to check them out, too!