June 16, 2024 will be the 7th edition of Neurodiversity Pride Day, the day of pride to celebrate neurodivergent uniqueness, and how each of us adds beauty to an otherwise neurotypical society. It’s a day organized by & for neurodivergents, and their allies.

On Neurodiversity Pride Day, we as neurodivergents take a moment to reflect on what we are proud of in our own lives, the love we bring to our families and friends, the value we add to teams and the everyday courage it takes to be yourself.

Neurodiversity Pride Day is the annual day of pride for neurodivergent people, and a day for celebrating the differentness of all types of minds; neurodiversity.

It’s organized since 2018, every year on June 16th or 18th to support acceptance, inclusion and appreciation in society for people who are most unlike most others.

Neurodivergent people, get a lot of negative opinions, prejudgements and limitations thrown their way, so this is a day for the opposite: to celebrate (y)our own unique ND traits, and how it benefits the world.

We all have something unique and awesome to contribute, and on this day we invite all NDs to remember that they have a lot to be proud of!

Neurodiversity Pride is a day to turn over the page of a difficult past or present, and rejoice in the fact, that there is only one person like yourself. And that this uniqueness, is something to keep. To be. To embrace. .

You, being you, is what the world needs, of us, and this day invites all neurodivergent persons to celebrate your own ways, in the way you want to do so yourself.

There are activities, online and offline, events and meetups, organized and spontaneous, small and large, but the most important thing, is to take a moment, each year, to self reflect, a tradition we call “you time”.

Many social movements have made a improvement in society, in waves of ’emancipation’. First waves are considered by the Womens Rights movement, the movements boosting equal rights regardless of skincolor, and more recently, the LGTBQ movement supporting equal rights for people with non-heterosexual orientations and non-cisgender identities. The ‘4th wave’ is for Neurodivergents, celebrating that their differences are of value, not something to be eliminated from society. 

In a time, where most of us deal often with the negative stereotypes created by others, we have chosen a day as a rebuke, a day to shine our light, and remember that each of us has a lot to be proud of. And that the act of reminding ourselves, can be an act of defiance, to a negative societal stigmas. 

Yes. You are invited to join neurodivergent kind in celebrating Neurodiversity Pride Day, the international day of pride for neurodivergent individuals and their allies. June 16th will be the 7th edition of our special day. 

On this special day, we reflect solo, or come together, to celebrate the uniqueness and diversity of our neurodivergent identities, and to recognize the value that we bring to our societies. It’s a day to embrace and honor our differences, to stand together in solidarity, and to celebrate the beauty and strength of our shared experiences.

This is your invitation to join in this celebration of neurodiversity, as neurodivergents organize activities around the globe and come together to proudly embrace our identities and stand up for our rights. Let’s make this a day to remember, filled with love, acceptance, and celebration of all that makes us NDs who we are!

There are many ways to celebrate.

For neurodivergents: The most important way, is to take a moment, minute or hour, for positive self-reflection on yourself as a  neurodivergent person.

For allies: There are many ways to support your favorite neurodivergent(s). The most important way, is to show them appreciation today.

For organizations: There are many activities a organization can organize, live or online, internal or for the public, above and below the radar. The easiest way is to show support on social media. A fun way, is to organize a flag hoisting.

For companies: There are many different ways a company can shine a positive light on their neurodivergent talents. The best way to celebrate, is to show or launch an initiative to become more neuroinclusive.

There are many ways to celebrate, but the best and easiest way is something called “You-Time”: 

For neurodivergents: The most important way, is to take a moment, minute or hour, for positive self-reflection on yourself as a  neurodivergent person. This happens, worldwide; on ND Pride we as neurodivergents are invited to take a moment to reflect on what we are proud for in our own life, the love we bring to our families and friends, the value we add to teams and the everyday courage it takes to be yourself.

A day to turn the page of a difficult past or present, and rejoice in the fact, that there is only one person like yourself. And that this uniqueness, is something to be proud of. It takes courage, to be you.

Celebrate ND Pride Day, any way you like…

Celebrate it by yourself. Or with your friends. Or with your team. Or meet others in the activities. Set up your own ND network. Do a Stride Action. Join the conference. Share ‘Happy Neurodiversity Pride Day’ online. Listen to the yearly keynote on Neurodiversity. Check out ND Artists and poets. Send a warm message to a neurodivergent you like….

We have enlisted many ways to celebrate on the pages for individuals, friends and organizations, but it’s your choice to do on this day, what you want to do.

Celebrate the day, in your own way.

Every neurodivergent adds something of beauty to this world, that would otherwise be ‘just NT’. We celebrate each individual that has a different neurotype, each unique brain, each neurodivergent. 

The most important part of ND Pride, is that this is the day for neurodivergent, to reflect on the good that they bring to the world. Which we call ‘you time’.

The day is organized by, and created for Neurodivergents: Autistics, ADHD’ers, Dyslectics, Tourettians and all that have a neurologically distinct mind. Neurotypicals are allowed to join the celebration, provided they behave like an ally in support of the day. ND Pride is not a ‘awareness day for neurotypicals to inform themselves’, the day is more of a party of self-acceptance and belongs to neurodivergents. 

Neurodivergence can be innate (you are born with  it) or it can be acquired (a result of a situation of life). 

“Neurodivergent” is an identity, it’s not a medical diagnosis. More than 100 neurotypes can be called neurodivergent. Coined by Kassiane Asumasu, it’s defined as: ““all who are neurologically divergent from typical“’. It’s estimated that 15% of people are neurodivergent, but new  estimates mention higher percentages: it depends on how you define the word. 

We do not have a signup or registration form for all activities, as each activity has its own way of signing up or opening doors without registration for their event

We have celebrated the first 5 editions of ND Pride on the 18th of June. We made this choice with their endorsement, as a sign of respect towards the group that inspired us most to start: the founders of Autistic Pride Day. However, since ND Pride has been growing exponentially, and now reaches millions worldwide, we have chosen to move the day of Pride for all neurodivergent kind, towards the 16th of June. And request recognition from the UN World Calendar, to become a global day, with this new date, on their calendar. 

The colors of ND Pride are Purple and Cyan/Skyblue.

Cyan is the color overlooked in the color wheel, Skyblue relates to the image of a kite soaring without strings.

Purple is seen often as the color of the unusual, the sacred and the unique.  

Recent ND Pride Day themes were:

• 2018: You, be you
• 2019: Celebrate your own way’ / Vier je eigen feestje
• 2020: Celebrating neurodivergent uniqueness
• 2021: Embrace your differences / omarm je andersheid
• 2022: Differentness takes courage
• 2023: What’s STRONG with you?

ND Pride is:

– A day focussing only on the positives of neurodivergent people and neurodiversity in general

– Is created by and for neurodivergent people, supported by allies and neuroinclusive organisations.

– Is a day focussed on neurodivergent people, ‘awareness for NTs’ is always great but its not the core of the day.

– Traditionally, all attendance of Neurodiversity Pride celebration events have been free, for all. Virtually all services provided, are created by volunteers. This is, however, not a ‘rule’ and we understand that in the future, certain events will have ticketing to cover costs. Pragmatism is key. And if you are a ND advocate, we applaud you earning money with your knowledge on this day, too.

– Is a day with “3 Rules for Organizers”; they are: 1) no discrimination of any kind, 2) no focus on sad stories, 3) NDs have to be part of the event, otherwise it can’t be called a ‘Neurodiversity Pride celebration’.

– We also hope, for clarity, that our partners use the official name (Neurodiversity Pride Day, ND Pride or Neurodiversity Pride celebrations) or appropriate nicknames when used in a text, and the Neurodiversity Pride logo (the kite soaring without strings), however any hashtag with variations (like #NDpride of #neurodiversitypride) are also appropriate. However: The names “NeuroPride” (Ireland), “Neurodiversityweek” and “Neurodiversity Celebration Week” (UK) are used for other initiatives than this one.

It does not. There are many movements supporting a positive change, and we stand in solidarity with them, like the LGTBQ Pride movement, but also with Autistic Pride, and with Mad Pride. In each of these movements, you will find the wish from a marginalized group to be accepted as they are, and we hope for a world where each of these movements will be succesfull. We visit our collegaes events, support where possible and forge friendships. However: The ND Pride movement, is a movement in its own right, with its own culture, its own ideas and ways to celebrate. Its not the same as other Pride Movements, and its not connected directly to the change they wish to see in the world.  

No. We’ve seen what happens in other initiatives taken over by commercial entities and we are not enthused with the outcomes. ND Pride will therefore stay non-profit and independent.

Yes you can. All donations are accepted via the Neurodiversity Foundation, which is a neurodivergent-led non-profit organisation creating projects by neurodivergents for neurodivergents. 

Yes, you can support local activities or organize your own. If you wish to support the efforts on a larger scale: Please email us at info@neurodiversityprideday.com. We are a volunteer based organization, and to speed up the process: we appreciate that you include in the message ‘what you can do to contribute’.

Due to funding barriers, we’ve had to delay the “Stride ND Marathon around the world” another year. We also had to cancel our ND Kids programs and several global actions due to the same reason.

A new research group has started to explore how “NDP” can become part of the world calendar. They will present their findings on the first days of ND Pride Week 2024. 

A new research group has started to explore how neurodivergence can be either the 7th pillar of diversity. They will present their findings on the first days of ND Pride Week 2024.