NYU’s Summit on Education for the Neurodiverse Community Taps Bridge for Virtual Event Production

On April 26-28, 2023, New York University’s Program for Inclusion and Neurodiversity Education (PINE) held their annual virtual conference. Bridge provided virtual event production services for this important summit. Services included pre-recording and editing speaker sessions, conference site build, registration management, and live session production (including day-of technical assistance), Bridge also provided post-production services for the evergreen versions, including video editing, sound mixing, captioning and project management.

The PINE Neurodiversity Summit is for educators, therapists, parents, industry professionals, and self-advocates committed to improving education for neurodiverse students, including non-speaking individuals. At the 2023 summit, several sessions provided an opportunity for non-speaking people to share their valuable insights about using augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) technology, such as digital tablets. According to Bridge Multimedia’s Senior Project Director, Dr. Wendy Sapp, “Bridge’s in-depth knowledge of accessible communication, combined with our media production expertise, allows us to address the complexities of producing impactful media with members of the nonspeaking neurodiverse community.”

The Bridge team provided additional support as needed for non-speaking neurodiverse presenters for scheduling, recording, and participating in live sessions. Dr. Sapp said, “In an event such as this, the key to success is having non-speaking people communicate in their way, to tell their stories. Some of those stories included accounts about systemic barriers within the school system; myths and misunderstandings regarding disability support; and improving Individualized  Education Plans.

This knowledge can be used to empower school systems to support their neurodiverse students confidently and successfully. This is the goal of PINE’s neurodivergent experts, who spoke about innovative methods and practical strategies to deepen inclusive practices. This year, the summit included sessions titled:

• Nurturing Neurodiversity
• Creating Cultures of Inclusion
• Classroom Sensory Safety
• Teaching with Universal Design for Learning
• Fostering Communication Autonomy

According to Bridge Multimedia’s CEO, Matthew Kaplowitz, “Bridge was proud to partner with NYU/PINE to promote access to inclusive education for people who are neurodiverse. Our shared dedication to this initiative, plus our experience producing accessible virtual events, was a perfect starting point for this collaboration. This was our second Summit Event with PINE and we look forward to many more.”

Visit the PINE Website