by Liz Norell, associate director of instructional support
The CETL workshop “What Instructors Need to Know When Working with Neurodivergent Students” will be held on September 8th from noon to 1:00 pm in Johnson Commons East Ballroom. Register for the event here.
Chances are good that you’ve seen or heard someone use the words “neurodivergent” or “neurodiverse” recently. That said, it’s not always clear exactly what these words mean or how they might impact the work we do with students.
The Chronicle of Higher Education recently reported that “up to 2 percent of undergraduates are autistic, and 19 percent have ADHD. Many more have anxiety disorder and depression.” These are reported cases, but we know many more students have them. There are systemic barriers around diagnosis and reporting of mental health conditions–cost and time two large ones. Students (and your colleagues) face stigma around disability and a lack of awareness, too. Chances are good more than a quarter of your students has a disability–whether you (or they) know it.
Defining terms
Let’s start with some terms:
- Neurodivergent: a person with a brain that processes information in a way different from most individuals.
- Neurotypical: a person with a brain that processes information in a way typical of most individuals.
- Neurodiverse: a group of people with diverse ways of processing information, including those considered typical.
Any classroom will be a neurodiverse space because it will always include students and instructors with diverse ways of knowing, processing information, and learning.
Neurodivergent people have some condition that impacts how their brains work. For example, they may have a learning disability, attention deficit or anxiety disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, Tourette’s syndrome, or bipolar disorder, to name a few.
A wide range of conditions are clustered under the umbrella of “neurodivergent.” This makes knowing how to anticipate the needs of neurodivergent students feel daunting, maybe even overwhelming.
In this workshop, we will share actionable advice with instructors on how to create learning spaces that facilitate success for neurodivergent students.
The CETL workshop “What Instructors Need to Know When Working with Neurodivergent Students” will be held on September 8th from noon to 1:00 pm in Johnson Commons East Ballroom. Register for the event here.
Sign up to get an email whenever we post something new on the blog