On April 2, 2024, Fairfax County Public Schools board member Rachna Sizemore Heizer emailed a newsletter out to the community stating that the board proclaimed March 18-24 as “Neurodiversity Affirmation Week.” She explained that posters designed by the district’s staff were “hung in each of our schools as a constant reminder of the uniqueness of human thought.” Neurodiversity is a term typically used to describe people who may have intellectual disabilities. The poster includes examples such as “OCD,” “ADHD,” “Autism,” and “Dyslexia.”
However, the district’s poster that students saw also attempts to extend the meaning of neurodiversity to include “gender,” “sexual orientation,” “ethnicity,” “race,” and “religion/spirituality.”
