About Neuro Unique World

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Neuro Unique World started with Sam, she's the brains behind it all, let's get her input first.

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What inspired you to start Neuro Unique World? ​

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Neuro Unique World was inspired by the people I had the honor of working with when I first arrived in Petawawa. The resilience they had to find pleasure in each day through tremendous hardship gave me the courage to keep going when it seemed impossible. 

 

I moved here in 2021 knowing I was coming into a region with limited services and that I had a unconventional background with very strong philosophies about how I conduct myself professionally. Neuro Unique World was built to be a safe space, using only neurodiversity affirming practices; we presume competence, promote autonomy, respect all communication styles, individualize services, take a strengths-based approach, honour neurodivergent culture, and voices.   

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What does neurodivergent mean? 

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When explaining what neurodivergence is, I like to break it into the two parts of the word; neuro - meaning brain, and divergent - meaning different, or developing on a different path.  Neurodivergent (ND) is a catch-all term to refer to individuals with developmental differences in the brain, examples include autism spectrum disorder (ASD), ADHD, obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD), Dyslexia, and many more.​

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What's been the biggest obstacle so far? 

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Learning the business side of things and how to find systems that work well for my neurodivergent brain - big surprise, it's not the typical way! Anyone who has been with us from the beginning can attest to my struggles with website maintenance, sending emails / invoices on time, and advertising.  I truly value the families that are understanding and supportive.​

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What did you do to prepare yourself for this type of work?

My education started with an undergraduate degree from University of Toronto, I was a double major in Molecular Biology, Immunology & Disease, and Neuroscience. From there I completed an advanced diploma in Behavioural Sciences from St. Lawrence College in Kingston, ON. I started working straight from school in applied behaviour analysis (ABA) I had positions including residential care with adults, private instructor therapist positions, and in centre coordinating collaborative therapy programs for children/teens. In Petawawa I worked as a support worker in local recreation and residential programs before opening my home as Neuro Unique World for social and instructional small groups.

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Neuro Unique World would not exist without the constant guidance and support of Chloe, here's what she has to say about Neuro Unique World.  

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What’s your favourite thing about working at Neuro Unique World?

 

Getting to know the kids we work with on a personal level and learning things like what their favourite Pokémon is. Seeing them improve in the subject we are working on and when they have their light bulb moment and understand the concept we are working on. 

 

What does a typical week of work look like?

 

A typical week can look like before school care mornings with a coffee or planning sessions coming up. We have a few sessions during the day for students not attending school and soon groups for adults. After school can look like a school pick up or two, tutoring or teaching life skills in 1 hour sessions with a quick snack in between. Not forgetting to add in the occasional youth night, Saturday play day, birthday parties, and social events scattered throughout the month. 

 

What makes Neuro Unique World special to you?

 

Getting to help others the way younger me would have liked to be helped. Being able to talk one on one and be a safe space for others. As an added bonus it's a space for my sister to get her sensory inputs and her “wiggles” out when she comes to visit me.

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