WHO WE ARE
The Neurodiversity University is a growth project made possible by the groundwork and success of the Neurodiversity Podcast, and the knowledge & experience of its host and co-founder, Emily Kircher-Morris.
Founded in 2022, the Neurodiversity University seeks to educate all types of people - educators, parents, counselors, employers, and others - about the needs, strengths, and uniqueness of a growing neurodivergent population.
Emily Kircher-Morris
Emily Kircher-Morris, LPC has dual Masters degrees in Counseling and Education, and specializes in the area of giftedness throughout the lifespan.
Emily began her career as a teacher in the St. Louis, MO metro area. With a Masters in Education and gifted certification, and armed with her own experiences as a gifted student, she took an interest in helping her districts better serve their gifted student population. She helped develop curriculum and a learning environment that allowed students to learn at their own unique pace, building on each child's strengths.
She decided to commit herself to the deeper needs of the gifted community by getting a Masters degree in Counseling from the University of Missouri/St. Louis. In 2011, she opened a private practice, Unlimited Potential Counseling and Education Center, in the western St. Louis suburb of O'Fallon, MO. The practice specializes in gifted and family counseling, group counseling, testing, and education services. The practice has eight counselors on staff.
In 2012, Emily founded the Gifted Support Network, an organization which provides resources and support to parents and educators of gifted and high-ability children of St. Louis.
In 2018, Emily and her husband Dave founded The Neurodiversity Podcast, which is available on all major podcast platforms, and today attracts hundreds of thousands of listens from around the world.
In addition, she provides lectures and presentations across the country for organizations like NAGC and the ACA, and provides continuing education lectures to local universities and school districts.
Books
Emily has written two books, the first of which is available now!
Teaching Twice-Exceptional Learners in Today’s Classroom (Free Spirit Publishing)
Twice-exceptional (2e) learners have often been misunderstood, disciplined, unchallenged, and left behind. Even as awareness of 2e learners has grown, educators are still in need of practical tools to recognize and support their twice-exceptional students. This book answers that need, providing teachers with accessible information about twice-exceptional diagnoses and suggested accommodations, modifications, and collaboration with other educational professionals.
Raising Twice-Exceptional Children: A Handbook for Parents of Neurodivergent Gifted Kids (Routledge)
Just because a child is gifted doesn't mean they don't have other types of neurodivergence, like ADHD, autism, dyslexia, and more. Conversely, even children with one of these diagnoses can be cognitively gifted. Raising Twice-Exceptional Children provides parents with a roadmap to understand the complex makeup of their "gifted-plus," or twice-exceptional, child or teen. (Available in late January 2022)