Honoring Professor Jason Arday

SENIA International is deeply saddened by the passing of Professor Jason Arday.

Jason joined us as a keynote speaker for our Voices of Inclusion virtual conference in November 2023. In our interactions with him, we were struck by his gentle manner, his humility, and his genuine desire to uplift those around him. He spoke about neurodivergence, race, education, and possibility from a place of lived experience, and we were grateful for what he shared with our community.

Jason was 41 years old. He was a partner and a father. His death is not something we can regard neutrally as simply the loss of a prominent academic or public figure. He should have had the opportunity for a longer, fuller life, and his family should still have their partner, father, son, brother and uncle.

In the months leading up to his death, questions were raised publicly about aspects of Jason’s academic work and personal history. Questions of academic integrity and professional ethics matter, and institutions have a responsibility to address them. But accountability and humanity are not opposing principles. There are processes through which concerns can be investigated fairly, rigorously and respectfully.

Instead, the scrutiny surrounding Jason became intensely public and, at times, deeply personal. His family has described the sustained abuse he experienced, and others have raised serious concerns about racism and the nature and intensity of the public attacks directed toward him.

We do not presume to know all of the circumstances surrounding Jason’s death, nor should anyone rush to conclusions about causation. But his death demands reflection.

For SENIA, that reflection must include the particular responsibilities we have toward neurodivergent people.

Neuroaffirming practice cannot be confined to classrooms, therapy spaces, or conversations about accommodations. It must extend to the systems we build for accountability, performance management, complaints, investigations, conflict, media engagement, and professional scrutiny. A process can be procedurally correct and still cause disproportionate harm if it fails to account for disability, neurodivergence, race, power, and vulnerability.

Jason’s death should challenge schools, universities, workplaces, professional organizations, media institutions, and all of us as individuals to ask harder questions about the systems in which people are expected to function. Who is protected by those systems? Who is made more vulnerable by them? How can legitimate concerns be addressed without stripping someone of dignity or humanity? And what safeguards are in place when we know that an individual may be particularly vulnerable?

These are questions SENIA intends to examine within our own work. We will consider how our resources and community can better support schools in developing systems that protect the dignity and wellbeing of neurodivergent students and staff, including during moments of conflict, concern, and accountability.

We extend our deepest condolences to Jason’s family, friends, colleagues, and all those who loved him. We are grateful to have had Jason as part of the SENIA community, however briefly, and we will remember the gentleness, humility, and hope he brought to our time together.

For Social Media: 

We are deeply saddened by the passing of Professor Jason Arday, who joined the SENIA community as a keynote speaker at our Voices of Inclusion conference in 2023.

Jason’s passing has prompted us to reflect not only on his life and contributions, but also on our collective responsibility to create systems that protect the dignity and wellbeing of neurodivergent people, especially during moments of conflict, scrutiny, and accountability.

We remember Jason for his gentleness, humility, and desire to uplift others. Our thoughts are with his family, friends, colleagues, and all those who loved him.