LEYMN Network Meeting, led by Kerry Murphy, curated by Vanessa Stansall
This session will provide an introduction to neurodiversity including some key terms and concepts and we’ll think about how these relate to our musical practice.
We’ll ask some critical questions:
In what ways might our work be based on ableist assumptions or deficit perspectives?
We often find ourselves having to link our musical work to broader assessment systems – what norms are these based on and who do they exclude?
Does our musical work encourage neurodivergent children to mimic neurotypical children?
By the end of the session we’ll hope to have some ideas for how we can move towards neurodiversity affirming musical practice and inclusion for neurodivergent children.
There’ll be time for reflection and discussion, and resources will be provided and circulated after the session.
(she/her)
Kerry Murphy is an early childhood specialist with a background in neurodiversity, disability and behaviour. She is a lecturer in early years & SEND at Goldsmiths University, an author, and currently completing a doctorate (EdD) in play and neurodivergence at The University of Sheffield. Her research aims to challenge the quality of play-based intervention so that there is a move away from teaching neurodivergent children to mimic neurotypical skills, also referred to as masking.
Murphy’s aim in working in the early years is to challenge the deficit narratives about children whose development does not take a typical pathway. She adopts a neurodiversity-affirming stance and believes in strengths-based approaches to inclusion. Murphy offers training and guidance to help practitioners and settings become neuroinclusive, including understanding the role of neurodiversity & ableism and the harms of traditional behaviour management approaches.
Find out more about Kerry Murphy’s work:
www.eyfs4me.com
@eyfs4me on Instagram
Read Kerry Murphy’s books:
Training sessions, workshops, seminars and networking events.
If you have any suggestions about training and events that you would like to see in future, please contact Emily at emily@sound-connections.org.uk.
