Kara Dymond, OCT, Ph.D, is a late diagnosed autistic and ADHD advocate, author, teacher, consultant, researcher, and award-winning university lecturer.

Growing up, Kara began thinking about differentiation and the potential in every student while working on homework with her younger brother, Danny, who is also autistic. She credits Danny with teaching her so much about good teaching before Kara even knew that would be her vocation.

Today, Kara is a student-centred educator who is passionate about collaborating closely with students, other teachers, and families to better support all learners. For 14 years, Kara has taught autistic students in the Toronto Catholic District School Board. Her students inspired her first book, The Autism Lens, and their contributions are her favourite parts! Her students were also central to Kara’s late diagnosis, as she realized the extent of her own neurodivergences from relating to her students, to Danny, and to other neurodivergent adults. Kara’s second book, Creating a Neurodiversity-Affirming Classroom: Easy Ways to Achieve Access, Agency and Wellbeing for All, is upcoming with Jessica Kingsley Publishers (2025).

Kara is passionate about creating truly inclusive classrooms. Her doctoral research focused on teacher professional development needs which helped her to design and deliver workshops which honour teacher expertise, interests, and classroom contexts. As a sessional lecturer, Kara teaches courses in accessible education, neurodiversity, learning differences, and mental health for beginning teachers at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education at the University of Toronto. Kara was awarded the 2024 Award for Excellence in Initial Teacher Education, having been nominated by colleagues and 21 graduate students. She is also a co-investigator in an ongoing study on universal design for learning and accessibility in graduate teacher education.

Kara consults with organizations to improve understanding of allyship, accommodations, and accessibility needs. She is a frequent presenter to organizations on autism, neurodiversity, and creating neurodiversity-affirming spaces. Kara also coaches neurodivergent youth and adults, helping them to identify and work toward their goals, grow in self-compassion and understanding, and self-advocate for their needs.

For fun, Kara co-hosts a podcast called Autistic Tidbits & Tangents with Maja Toudal, an autistic psychologist from Denmark; and Bruce Petherick, another Canadian autistic advocate. Episodes can be found on Spotify, Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts, and YouTube.