Project All Rise announces first online live event, 'Building a School Culture for Neurodiversity: Start Here’ free for educators on the 20th of May

Neurodiversity is a reality in nearly every classroom across the country. In a 2026 survey of over 1,000 school leaders by the Irish Primary Principals’ Network, nine in ten said that equal access to quality, inclusive education for all children must be a system priority. While recognition and understanding of neurodiversity has advanced, practical fluency has not always kept pace. Only 10% of educators feel adequately equipped for the diversity needs in their classrooms. Project All Rise provides educators with practical knowledge of what enabling neurodiversity looks like across the school day. 

Titled ‘Building a School Culture for Neurodiversity: Start Here,’ the event focuses on regulation, positioned by research as the foundational enabler for neurodiversity. Regulation is what allows any of us to feel settled enough to learn, to participate, and to connect with others. Regulation is particularly relevant to neurodivergent learners because systems and norms have been designed for a majority way of being. Of the many factors that support regulation, Project All Rise focuses this event on two evidence backed areas: movement and relationships. 

Pictured is Sarah Colgan at the launch event of Project All Rise

Sarah Colgan, Founder of Project All Rise, said, “We chose to start with regulation because it’s the thing that makes everything else possible. A child who isn’t feeling regulated can’t participate or access learning, no matter how good the teaching is. The research is clear that movement and relationships are key ingredients for enabling regulation, and that’s what this event is built around. Through short films and expert insight, educators experience what this feels like from the inside rather than learning about it from the outside. This felt understanding is what gives the confidence to apply it on Monday morning.”

Toolkit for learning: Movement 

Neurodiversity is often framed in terms of the brain alone, but the “neuro” in neurodiversity refers to the nervous system. How we think, act, and feel is guided by what is happening in the body. For many learners, movement is a key tool for regulation and therefore for learning and participation.

This includes stimming. A study published this year found that stimming serves functions including safety, connection, and communication, and concluded that schools should be developing stimming-affirming environments. Researchers at UC Berkeley reconceptualised stimming as ‘an epistemic resource for inclusive education’: a way of thinking, processing, and learning. Despite the value it holds, a study last year of 248 autistic adults at the University of Minnesota found that participants suppressed stimming almost exclusively to avoid social judgment. The research describes the experience of suppressing stimming as uncomfortable, “similar to holding back something you need to say.”

Toolkit for learning: Relationships

A major peer-reviewed study of 726 children tested whether it is the quality of the individual student teacher relationship or the quality of classroom level self-regulation programmes that predicts children’s self-regulatory development. The finding: it was the relationship, not the programme. The researchers described the student-teacher relationship as holding “primacy” for self-regulatory development, regardless of what classroom-level supports were in place. For most children, teachers are second only to parents in the chain of caregivers whose relationships shape how they learn to regulate. A major review of 312 self-regulation studies found that co-regulation support drops from 100% of interventions in infancy to just 5% by secondary school.

Clinical psychologist Dr Mona Delahooke, a contributor to the event, writes in her second edition of ‘Beyond Behaviours’,  “The most important tool in our toolkit is always our connection with the child standing in front of us.”

Findings from Dublin City University’s Autism-Friendly Schools: Including the Voices of Autistic Pupils in Educational Provision in Ireland study found that children who received more support reported more positive experiences at school. Similarly, the study found that relationships with their teachers was ‘make-or-break’ for most autistic children and young people. The relationship was so pivotal to autistic students that there were seldom any neutral feelings towards teachers. Project All Rise’s content is designed to address this gap, bringing co-regulation support to educators at primary and post-primary level. 

Dr. Sinead McNally, Associate Professor Early Childhood Education at DCU led this research and is a member of the Project All Rise Expert Advisory Board, commenting on the research she said, "Our research with autistic children in Irish schools found that the relationship with their teacher was 'make or break' for the child's successful participation. Across the children who shared their experiences, there were rarely any neutral feelings towards teachers. The impact of small acts of kindness, meaningful accommodations, and feeling genuinely understood should not be underestimated, and this is an important focus for the first Project All Rise Live event.”

About the event

Project All Rise’s content is designed to build understanding by feeling it, rather than just by learning it. Instead of learning about neurodiversity from the outside, educators hear directly from neurodivergent young people and adults about what the school day feels like from the inside. 

The 20^th of May event features contributions from Dr Mona Delahooke (Clinical Psychologist) and Kelsie Olds (Occupational Therapist), alongside short films from neurodivergent young people and adults sharing what the school day feels like from the inside.

Project All Rise was founded by Sarah Colgan, a Social Entrepreneurs Ireland Awardee whose previous initiative, 20x20, became a national movement for gender equity in Irish sport. Project All Rise launched publicly in April 2026, with this event marking the first in its live series.

Martin Moloney, Director Clare Education Centre, Éadaoin McGovern, Director Navan Education Centre, and Terry O’Sullivan, Director Tralee Education Centre, commented, “Tralee, Clare and Navan Education Support Centres are proud to partner with Project All Rise to support inclusive, neurodiversity-affirming school environments. We look forward to hosting the first webinar on 20th May and engaging educators in this important work.” 

Aileen Kennedy, Principal, Bunscoil Loreto, Gorey, Wexford, said, "Schools are trying to navigate an ever-changing educational landscape and Project All Rise feels like something that is arriving with a genuine understanding of the challenges faced by neurodivergent learners as well as the day-to-day realities for us as educators. What really stood out to me is how it brings together both lived experience and professional expertise in a way that feels practical and supportive. It's clear this was designed with real schools in mind. I believe it can benefit every learner and every educator."

What educators can access

Educators can register at www.projectallrise.com to join the founding group of schools. Registration takes less than a minute and gives immediate access to a taster film and a place at the 20^th of May Project All Rise Live event. Project All Rise Bitesize, the self-paced film-based pathway, begins weekly releases from September 2026 with the new school year. Each segment is under 10 minutes and designed to fit into staff meetings or Croke Park hours. No paperwork. No schedule to follow. Access is free for Season 1 for educators who register before the end of term. Three additional Live events will follow from September, with educators able to attend individual sessions or the full series.

About Project All Rise

Project All Rise is a purpose-led social enterprise building cultural infrastructure to enable neurodiversity. It uses film, live events, and partnerships to show how different ways of thinking and learning can be empowered, and to make these approaches culturally familiar. Season 1 is focused on educators across primary and post-primary mainstream schools. It complements existing services and formal training and does not replace them.

Made possible by

Project All Rise has been made possible by its Official Sponsors:

EY is Futures Sponsor for Project All Rise. 

SumUp is Value of Diversity Sponsor for Project All Rise.

Irish Life is Wellbeing Sponsor for Project All Rise.

Season 1 of the Project All Rise Live series is being made free to access for educators thanks to Distilled Ltd (Adverts, daft.ie, DoneDeal), the first Access Ally for Project All Rise. MML Ireland is also a founding Access Ally for Project All Rise.

The Access Ally model enables free access for educators and is open to new partners.

For more, visit www.projectallrise.com

Slán go fóill.