Neurodivergent Nurses Australia is convening the first Neurodiversity in Nursing and Midwifery Conference, to be held in Wollongong, New South Wales, in 2027, with ways to take part online.
Neurodivergent nurses, midwives and students bring strengths to their work that can include close attention to detail, deep focus, pattern recognition and empathy grounded in lived expertise. Workplaces, placements and education are not always designed with neurodivergent people in mind, however, and there is a great deal the professions can learn together about inclusion. The conference gives neurodivergent nurses, midwives and students a space of their own to share their practice, research and lived expertise, and to consider how the professions can better include them.
Who it is for
Neurodivergent nurses, midwives and nursing and midwifery students, and the people who work, teach and manage alongside them.
How it is being built
The conference will be owned and run by a not-for-profit company of the same name, now being formed by people from the neurodivergent nursing and midwifery community, so that it belongs to that community rather than to any one person or organisation. Lived expertise leads: neurodivergent people shape the program, chair sessions and hold the decision-making roles. Nobody is asked to disclose their neurotype to take part in any role.
The conference is designed to be accessible by default, with online participation, captions, written materials in advance, quiet space and breaks provided for everyone without anyone needing to ask, and registration kept affordable, with support for students and people on low incomes as funding allows.
Where things are now
The founding group is being formed, and the date, venue and program will be settled with that group and with partners during 2027 planning. A call for abstracts will follow.
Stay informed, or take part
If you would like to hear about the conference as plans firm up, or you are interested in presenting, partnering or helping to plan it, email jessie@ndnmconference.com. We will reply personally.