Unleashing the Power of Difference: Creating Neuro-Inclusive Learning Spaces

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Supporting sensory needs creates healthier environments.

We live in a neurodiverse world. Students, whether or not they have formal diagnoses, learn in different ways, and the converging crises of our day demand new paradigms of inclusion across the campus. Spaces that support sensory needs can allow a wider range of students to flourish, creating a more equitable – and more flexible – environment.

Finding solutions.

Leaders from Thomas Jefferson University and Verona Carpenter Architects will share examples across typologies of innovative solutions, unleashing the generative power of difference.

Use the examples and discussion points to create a healthier, more attractive space on campus for all learning types.

Join us!

Learning Outcomes

1. Create responsive, flexible learning environments that accommodate sensory difference – through space planning, lighting, acoustics, and furniture – by applying Universal Design for Learning ideas to spatial strategy.
2. Help reduce anxiety in students, faculty, and staff – whether or not they identify as neurodiverse – by allowing more user choice in the way spaces are inhabited and configured.
3. Attract and retain a wider ranges of students by adapting existing buildings to support neuro-inclusivity, including spatial adaptations required in response to COVID-19.
4. Maximize the use of available outdoor space by applying the lessons learned from the workplace and other space typologies.

Featured Speakers

Jennifer Carpenter

PrincipalVerona Carpenter Architects

Irina Verona

PrincipalVerona Carpenter Architects

Marie-Christine Potvin

Associate Professor of Occupational TherapyThomas Jefferson University

Monique Chabot

Assistant Professor of Occupational TherapyThomas Jefferson University

Josh Humbel

Planning Institute Program Manager