Fom 17th-21st March 2025 it was Neurodiversity Celebration Week, a worldwide yearly initiative to highlight and support neurodivergent people, breaking down barriers, challenging stereotypes and increasing awareness of the neurodivergent experience. This year there were a range of free online events hosted to celebrate, which you can check out here: https://www.neurodiversityweek.com/events.
Your Students’ Union are also are excited to celebrate and empower neurodivergent students and foster an inclusive culture where everyone at Surrey feels supported. 🧡
Currently, the Voice Zone is launching our brand new Disability & Neurodiversity Subnetwork as part of the Student Equality Network. This is a safe space for students to share their experiences, have open discussions about issues and ideas, meet other people and join exciting events to celebrate student diversity and lived experience.
You can sign up to join the Disability & Neurodiversity Subnetwork here. You can also follow us on Instagram at @studentequalitynetwork to find out more. Our first meeting will be held on Wednesday 26th March, from 13-13:30 on Teams. All students are welcome to join the meeting here.
Led by our Disability & Neurodiversity Student Leader and supported by the VP Voice, our monthly meetings allow for open discussion about the student voice on neurodiversity, and how to improve support for disabled and/or neurodiverse students at Surrey.
All students are welcome to join our team of volunteers, which is a great way to enhance your CV. You can record your volunteering hours for each meeting attended and supporting with any events led by the network; and could even win a Volunteering Award depending on how many hours you log.
For more information about our Student Networks, check out https://surreyunion.org/voice/student-equality-network/.
Meet Your Student Leader
Hi, I am Abi the new Disability and Neurodiversity Subnetwork Leader. Disability and neurodiversity is a big passion of mine and I am very keen to get everyone’s views heard! I know how complex and different our experiences are at the university for a multitude of reasons.
As part of Neurodiversity Celebration Week, we would love to hear your views and thoughts about neurodiversity so we have produced a questionnaire. This questionnaire aims to gather the current experiences of neurodivergent individuals on campus to help us get a picture of where we are at as a university. We want to hear what’s going right and what’s going wrong!
Share Your Views – How can Surrey improve support for neurodiverse students?
Do you feel supported and helped as a neurodiverse individual or do you feel you’re not listened to or unsure of where to go for support? Any feedback is welcome and feel free to answer as little or as much as you like.
Sharing your views is a great and easy way to get change happening around the university that’s shaped by you. We really value hearing from you and we hope you can take the time to complete the questionnaire 😊.
Here’s the link! https://forms.office.com/e/PLAcujTExn
What Support is Available?
Both the University and the Students’ Union are committed to ensuring that all students feel supported, and there is always someone you can reach out to. Below are a few useful contacts.
Disability & Neuroinclusion Team: You are welcome to contact the team for support, especially if you require reasonable adjustments. More info here: https://www.surrey.ac.uk/disability-neuroinclusion.
Centre of Wellbeing: Our trained counsellors are available to support all students with their mental health. More information here: https://my.surrey.ac.uk/wellbeing/centre-for-wellbeing.
Advice Team: Our Students’ Union Advice Team offers confidential, judgement-free academic advice, particularly with Extenuating Circumstances. You can reach out to them at ussu.advice@surrey.ac.uk or find out more at https://surreyunion.org/support/academic-advice/.
Voice Zone Coordinator: Victoria Wiltshire, our Voice Zone Coordinator, is in charge of all Student Networks and related initiatives. You can reach out to her at v.wiltshire@surrey.ac.uk.
VP Voice: Luana Vasconcelos, your Vice-President Voice, leads on initiatives to represent the student voice; including Course Reps/Head Reps and the Student Equality Network. You can reach out to her at ussu.vpvoice@surrey.ac.uk.
VP Support: Sam Buss, your Vice-President Support, organises frequent events to support your wellbeing and can also meet with students who are facing difficulties. You can reach out to her at ussu.vpsupport@surrey.ac.uk.
Union President: Liam White, your Union President, is the lead student representative, and can support students by sharing your feedback at high level University Committees. You can reach out to him at ussu.president@surrey.ac.uk.
AutiSoc: Our society dedicated to supporting neurodiverse students by hosting fun events and weekly sessions where you can make friends and be yourself. You can join the society here by getting your free membership and follow them on Instagram at @surreyautisoc.
Never hesitate to reach out to one of our services if you’re struggling, or want to have a chat.
If you’re passionate about student equality, and have ideas of how we can improve support for neurodiverse students and ensure you are being heard, you can join our Disability & Neurodiversity Subnetwork here. If you have any questions, just reach out to our Voice Zone Coordinator who oversees the Student Networks, Victoria, at v.wiltshire@surrey.ac.uk.
