Neurodiversity club

Neurodiversity club helps students find sense of belonging at SAIT

Divya, left, and Ramya Ramesh, both SAIT international students, enjoyed the music in the Silent Disco Dance Party at the SAIT Senator Burns Building on Mar. 22, 2024.(Photo by Jiaqi Su/The Press)

The Neurodiversity Student Club (NSC) at SAIT is working to provide an inclusive community for students to find their tribe.
It was established in September 2023 by Fernando Moreno-Prado and Allan Thacker, both SAIT students and members of the Neurodiversity Alliance.
“(NSC) It's a great space for people who are neurodivergent to know that they're not alone,” said Moreno-Prado, who serves as president of the club.
As a neurodivergent student, Moreno-Prado says he has had some negative experiences in his life, and after counselling at SAIT, they pointed him toward the Neurodiversity Alliance, and he became a member in late 2022.
A year later, the club had come to fruition.
“I think that's kind of one of our main missions is supporting neurodiversity students and finding that community and feeling that sense of belonging when they're here on campus,” said Dani Taylor, co-chair of the Neurodiversity Alliance.
The SAIT Neurodiversity Alliance focuses on bringing awareness to the campus and to the community.
Taylor says they have a Microsoft Teams channel to connect and a website to share news and event information.
Moreno-Prado says even though the Neurodiversity Alliance was bringing attention to normalizing neurodivergent statuses, he felt it would be good to have a student club focused on socializing.

Fernando Moreno-Prado, president of the Neurodiversity Student Club, showed unique stickers in the Silent Disco Dance Party at the SAIT Senator Burns Building on Mar. 22, 2024.(Photo by Jiaqi Su/The Press)

“(NSC) would allow people to find help and support from people who wouldn’t just be fellow students, but potentially be fellow friends,” said Moreno-Prado.
The same thought occurred to Thacker, the co-founder of the NSC.
“When I got into the Neurodiversity Alliance, we decided that we wanted to have a student club to go along with the staff,” he said.
The NSC held some fun events this semester, including a movie night and a Silent Disco Dance Party, as part of efforts to grow their membership.
“I like all the games, I like the neuron(neurodiversity) things everywhere,” said Ramya Ramesh, a SAIT student who participated in the Silent Disco Dance Party.
You can find your people in NSC, you can also share your personal experience, they will provide support and help you solve your concerns.
“A lot of the time when students have neurodiverse diagnoses, say, things like ADHD or they're on the autism spectrum, it can really help to find other people who have similar experience,” said Thacker.
Moreno-Prado agreed.
“I can sometimes say too much, like too much unnecessary information, somebody one of the other members might point this out to me,” he said.
“And especially when you become friends, it's even a way of keeping each other in check.”
The NSC plans to bring more events and club activities in the coming semester.
“We have some bigger plans in the future, and we hope to for those of you who are coming back next this next school year, we hope to see you again,” said Moreno-Prado.

Gopal Kanakanji, an international student in SAIT, played the building blocks in the Silent Disco Dance Party at the SAIT Senator Burns Building on Mar. 22, 2024.( (Photo by Jiaqi Su/The Press)

Fernando Moreno-Prado, president of the Neurodiversity Student Club, in front of the Neurodiversity Alliance sign at the SAIT Senator Burns Building on Mar. 22, 2024.(Photo by Jiaqi Su/The Press)

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