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Bexley City Schools panel frames neurodiversity around function, equity and supports
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Summary
At a community ‘Champion Chat’ in the Bexley City library, school leaders and clinicians defined neurodiversity as normal variation, urged assessment focused on functional impact, promoted equity in testing and offered practical home- and school-based supports; organizers highlighted a May 5 transition event and a QR survey for follow-up.
BEXLEY CITY — A community panel hosted by Bexley City Schools at the local library urged parents and educators to treat neurodiversity as a range of normal brain differences and to focus assessments and supports on functional impact rather than labels.
Dr. Amy White, the event moderator, told the audience the purpose was “to learn together, to build our community’s understanding of neurodiversity.” The panel included parent mentor Rachel Holland; neuropsychologists Dr. Steven Guy and Dr. Cheryl Chase; and school psychologist Barry Woodfork.
The panelists agreed on two central points: first, that variation in development is expected and often advantageous, and second, that interventions should be matched to the child’s real-world functioning. “Frontal lobes are very actively developing from infancy on,” Dr. Steven Guy said, emphasizing that age and environment shape when differences become impairing and when they merit formal intervention.
Panelists warned against relying solely on test scores and called for more inclusive, culturally and linguistically appropriate assessments. Barry Woodfork, a school psychologist, said equity requires systems and procedures that routinely collect parent and teacher input and use norm-referenced instruments appropriate for the tested population.
On practical supports, panelists highlighted the value of sleep, exercise and routines; externalizing information (checklists, visual reminders); executive-function coaching; and flexibility in homework or participation expectations. Dr. Cheryl Chase recommended focusing on functional impact: “Is this thing getting in the way?” She and others advised parents to seek research-based programs; Dr. Guy cited Unstuck and On Target as an example used to improve cognitive flexibility.
Panelists also addressed emerging or descriptive labels. Asked about pathological demand avoidance, Dr. Chase called it a descriptive profile rather than a standalone, DSM-defined diagnosis, and urged careful differential assessment rather than internet-driven self-diagnosis.
The panel explicitly countered circulating myths. Dr. Guy said, “Vaccines do not cause autism,” and added that, in his view as a clinician, Tylenol during pregnancy is not a cause either.
Before adjournment, organizers promoted a BECCS transition event on May 5 to support students moving between school levels and invited attendees to complete a follow-up survey via a QR code on the program. The session was live-streamed and will be posted on the Bexley Schools YouTube channel.
The event closed with panelists’ single takeaways: center strengths in evaluations, care for caregivers, externalize key information for students, and use community resources and research-backed programs.
Next steps: the district asked attendees to complete the survey to propose future topics and to attend the May 5 transition event; the recording will be available on the district’s YouTube channel.
