by Nicole States, Instructional Developer
*a note on language: There is an ongoing discussion about whether to use person-first or identity-first language when discussing mental health and cognitive conditions. I have chosen to use identity-first language as it represents my personal stance with my neurodivergence. Studies show mixed preferences, so when speaking with or about specific individuals, it is best to ask what language they prefer.
Neurodiversity, neurodivergent, and neuro-spicy, these are just a few of the words that can be used to describe the fundamental truth that brains all work differently. You may hear all, some, or none of these in your classroom, but their distinction is important.
Neurodiversity describes the wide range of neuro-functioning that exists.
Neurodivergent describes someone whose neuro-function is outside of what is widely (but not medically) considered common or neurotypical.
Neuro-spicy is a slang term used by some to empower people in the neurodivergent community to embrace their identities.
This means that a person may be neurodivergent, and groups of people are neurodiverse. These terms have been coming up more in recent years and are used to separate people into ‘typical’ and ‘atypical’ neuro-functioning. It is important to know that neurodiversity is not a medical term but was created by sociologists Judy Singer and journalist Harvey Blume in the late 90s after interacting with an autistic online community (Singer, 1999; Blume, 1997). There is no one definition for how the brain functions. However, like many social constructs it affects the way we communicate, learn, teach, and show up in the classroom so it is important to discuss.
Because neurodivergence is a social construct and not a medical term, it is hard to properly define what conditions make up different neurodivergence. Autism and ADHD are the two most well-known conditions, the list also includes other cognitive processing disorders and chronic mental health conditions: down syndrome, dyscalculia, dysgraphia, dyslexia, dyspraxia, bipolar, obsessive-compulsive disorder, sensory or auditory processing disorders, Tourette syndrome, and anxiety just to name a few.
Neurodivergence is a disability, because our society and university systems were established by neurotypical folks and students are disabled by these structures. Therefore, individual accommodations can be used to support neurodivergent students in the classroom, but gaining accommodations can be time consuming, costly and invasive, so not all our neurodivergent students may have them. To help create classrooms that support the wide variety of neurodivergences that could be present with or without accommodations, we can learn from and use the social model of disability.
The social model of disability acknowledges the difference and attempts to find a way to adjust the environment to be inclusive for people with that disability (Oliver, 1983). We can use this model to establish what my colleague Eric calls “access moves” to create natural accessibility in our classrooms. This approach will not only benefit neurodivergent individuals but enrich the learning experience for everyone by acknowledging and embracing cognitive diversity. The Reinert Center will be exploring and sharing practical strategies for implementing access moves in various educational settings over the next year. So, tune in for more or feel free to reach out to us to set up a consultation to discuss your specific teaching scenarios. [Link to the Reinert Center’s Teaching Consultation request form]
Until then explore these resources to help you plan your courses and class sessions to create access for students. We will be adding to these in our upcoming year to focus on supporting neurodivergent students, but these are a great place to start.
Uncover your assumptions on ability: [Link to Seeing the Diversity in your Classroom]
Welcoming all different types of students: [Link to Creating a Welcoming Class Environment]
Manage cognitive input: [Link to Mitigating Information Overload]
Building structured groups: [Link to Effective Group Work: a Primer]
Rethinking a common share method: [Link to Alternatives to the Think-Pair-Share Activity Design]
Communicate all expectations clearly: [Link to Using Ground Rules to Support Diverse Learning Environments] and [Link to Creating Inclusive Course Assignments] and an instructional video [Link to video on Scaffolding Assignments for International Students]
Create flexible structure: [Link to Giving Students Agency]
Singer J. (1999). ‘Why can’t you be normal for once in your life? From a ‘problem with no name’ to a new category of disability’. In Corker M., French S. (Eds.), Disability discourse (pp. 59–67). Open University Press.
Blume H. (1997). ‘Autism & the internet’ or ‘it’s the wiring, stupid’. Media in Transition.
Oliver, M.1983. Social Work with Disabled People. Basingstoke: Macmillan.
The Notebook 