MDC Honors National Autism Acceptance Month 2025
This month MDC wants to acknowledge and celebrate Autism Acceptance Month. Alongside our learning and action network, Learning for Equity: a Network for Solutions – North Carolina, and the wider community we want to take this month as an opportunity to uplift the perspectives and experiences of folx with autism, neurodivergence, and learning differences.
MDC’s Learning for Equity: a Network for Solutions – North Carolina program is a learning and action network of organizations from across North Carolina working to improve educational outcomes for students of color, and other marginalized students, with learning differences. While students with learning differences and other neurological differences are equally as capable of mastering rigorous curriculum as their peers, they experience barriers in schools and are more likely to experience exclusionary discipline, repeat a grade, or drop out of school. LENS-NC seeks to remove environmental barriers to student success and ensure all students, regardless of race, family income, or learning difference status, have the tools and support they need to thrive in their classrooms and community. In support of a vision where all students receive a quality education in an inclusive environment LENS members work directly with students, families, educators, and policymakers to address the needs of students with learning differences, including neurological processing challenges and autism, and the unique needs of marginalized students with learning differences.
LENS-NC members support students and families in a variety of ways:
- Supporting family members during Individualized Education Plan (IEP) meetings
- Training students and family members to self-advocate in classrooms, districts, and beyond
- Advocating for student and family needs in the courtroom
- Equipping parents to conduct research and publish a report on the needs of students and families with learning differences
- Creating supportive environments for parents of students with learning differences
- Creating toolkits that outline best practices for educators and administrators as they continue to find ways to provide tailored support for students across identities
The Network also acknowledges that inclusivity and wellbeing don’t stop at classroom doors. Roughly 1 in 5 people have a learning difference of some kind, and your family members, friends, and colleagues deserve to go to work and live in a community where they are valued and supported. MDC asks you to join LENS Members across the state to create and sustain a culture of acceptance and inclusivity that honors diverse perspectives and experiences. Throughout the month MDC invites you to reflect on the ways that you can support changes in your community, workplace, and/or classroom to cultivate spaces where all voices are honored and all perspectives are valued. This month we will be posting resources on our social media channels to outline the current landscape for folx with learning differences, autism, and other types of neurodivergence. We invite you to explore those resources to learn more about the challenges folx with learning differences face, as well as the ways that we can embrace the diversity of the human experience to work towards a south where all people thrive.
