Our mission
Mission and values statement.
We are a Society for Neurodiversity, a member-led organisation of neurodivergent people and we call ourselves S4Nd (pronounced ‘Sand’).
S4Nd is a social model of disability advocate and directly opposed to exclusion. We are not disabled because we are autistic, dyspraxic, dyslexic, Tourettic or because we have ADHD*, we are disabled by society – in its environments and attitudes. S4Nd’s mission is to eradicate ableism by collaborating with people and organisations to change the rules, remove the barriers and push back boundaries for everyone.
We will showcase our potential, highlight the obstacles to our success and through fundraising and campaigning, we will create opportunities for our members to satisfy their needs, which are the same as everyone else’s. We need secure, safe and warm places to live, relationships and love, access to healthcare and equitable opportunities to gain experience, learn, work and participate in meaningful activities.
S4Nd will change the world!
*S4Nd welcomes anyone with any of the Neurodevelopmental differences, diagnosed or not and those that choose to self-identify. S4Nd welcomes families, friends and allies too.
A note on Neurodiversity
Judy Singer coined the word Neurodiversity in her 1998 Honours thesis, a pioneering sociological work that mapped out the emergence of a new category of disability that, till then, had no name. Neurodiversity is representative of the fact that differences in neurology should be recognised and respected as a social category, similar to ethnicity, socioeconomic class, sexual orientation, gender, or disability.
“Neurodiversity may be every bit as crucial for the human race as biodiversity is for life in general. Who can say what form of wiring will prove best at any given moment?”
Judy Singer, The Atlantic (1998)
“Every human brain on the planet is as unique as each fingerprint. It follows that there is a virtually infinite diversity of humans on the planet, with infinitely diverse minds complexified further by experience in equally diverse bodies.”
Judy Singer, Neurodiversity: It’s politics, not science!
We want to work with organisations that help other marginalised groups of people that are directly opposed to exclusion.
If you are interested in being part of our mission to change the world contact us.
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