What is neurodiversity?

Neurodiversity is an umbrella term, that can be used to describe neurological differences such as dyspraxia, dyslexia, ADHD, dyscalculia, autistic spectrum and Tourette syndrome. It acknowledges natural human variations, and advocates an embracing of the benefits that different thinking can bring.

Neurodiversity in the classroom

Students with neurodiversities bring with them a valuable set of perspectives to higher education. Educators have a significant role to play in facilitating and highlighting the contribution and creativity that these students bring to the classroom.

By recognising variations among learners as normal and valuable, faculty can create an inclusive and holistic learning environment, widening student participation and supporting retention. Likewise, by understanding challenges facing neurodiverse learners, barriers to their contributing and engaging within the classroom can be significantly reduced.

Neurodiverse Students – Strengths and Challenges 

Neurodiverse Students – Strengths and Challenges  – Click to open full image in a new window

DCU’s ‘Neurodivergent Student society‘ is the first of its kind in Europe.  Their video on the society’s homepage places the student voice front and centre, and is an excellent example of how student led initiatives have the capacity to create real and lasting impact in higher education.

Ahead asked students what they thought of current teaching and learning practice and how it could be improved: Student Voices on Teaching and Learning, Ahead, Creating Inclusive Environments in Education and Employment for People with Disabilities, 2015

Challenges faced by autistic students from: Fabri, M., Andrews, P.C.S. and Pukki, H.K. (2016) A Guide to Best Practice in Supporting Higher Education Students on the Autism Spectrum – for HE Lecturers and Tutors, P 3.  

Inclusive Teaching Strategies, AHEAD: Creating Inclusive Environments in Education and Employment for People with Disabilities

Ahead presents inclusive strategies that support all students, including students with ‘hidden disabilities’, so they have equitable access to the learning environment.

Understanding Asperger Syndrome: A Professor’s Guide, (2014), Organization for Autism Research

This video on Asperger Syndrome focuses on educating faculty, learning support and others on what it means to be a college student on the spectrum, and discusses how they might best be able to help these learners succeed.

Transition to University Resource for Academic and Professional Staff. Neurodiversity Hub.

While this resource is designed to support autistic students, much of the information and resources also apply to students with other neurodiverse variations struggling with the transition to higher education – support strategies; reasonable adjustments and accommodations.

Best Practice Guides for professionals supporting autistic students in Higher Education (2016), Autism&Uni

Takeaways: insights, ideas and prompts for making a positive change and good practice to share with colleagues

Calls to action: direct action you can take immediately and without the help of others

Bax, K. Guidance: Designing Learning for Autistic and Neurodiverse Students, 2020, OpenTEL.

This guide aims to help raise awareness of some of the barriers autistic people may experience, and to help educators design learning, activities, tutorials and assessment that can help autistic students demonstrate their potential on a more level playing field. It was collaboratively created with a range of OU staff and students; people with lived experience of autism and of supporting autistic people in learning, and people with research expertise in autism in higher education contexts.

Inclusive Assessment, University of Plymouth

Research-informed resources, guidance and videos about inclusive teaching and learning and assessment design. to support design of an equitable, supported assessment experience for all students

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7 Steps to: Inclusive Assessment, (2014), University of Plymouth\

Practical guidance and tips to incorporating inclusive assessment into modules and programmes, so that assessment enables rather than hinders students’ learning.

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CAST (2020). UDL Tips for Assessment. Wakefield, MA

Using the lens of CAST’s Universal Design for Learning, this resource provides a practical guide to reflecting on whether an assessment accurately and equitably assesses learners’ attainment of learning outcomes, be it through remote learning environments or in a face-to-face experience.

UDL and Assessment,UDL On Campus, CAST

This resource provides an overview of the Types of Assessment, a section on Assessing Variable Learners, examples of Construct Relevance, and a section about the UDL Principles and Assessment.

QUB Thrives accessibility – Click to open in new window

The Centre for Educational Development (CED) in Queens University Belfast designed the THRIVES acronym to help you to easily remember key accessibility considerations. The THRIVES image has seven basics to get you started on your accessibility journey and is an easy way to recall the fundamentals of accessibility, that can be easily printed, and includes an audio file.

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Galvin, T. Accessibility Checklist for Course Content. QUB Centre for Educational Development. Queens University Belfast,

Creating Accessible Documents, AHEAD, Creating Inclusive Environments in Education and Employment for People with Disabilities

Making electronic documents that you produce accessible is both the easiest and most effective way to increase ease of access to lecture notes, guidelines and any other written material you produce for students. The key is to get into the mindset of adding the accessibility features at the creation stage.

Dos and Don’ts on Designing for Accessibility (2016), Designing for accessibility, Accessibility in Government, UK

Six guideline posters on the dos and don’ts of designing for accessibility – catering to users from: low vision, D/deaf and hard of hearing, dyslexia, motor disabilities, users on the autistic spectrum and users of screen readers.

How to design visual learning resources for neurodiverse students, Guidelines designers should consider when creating learning resources. Full Fabric

Guidelines that designers of educational resources should consider when creating learning resources.

Accessible Design for Learner Variability: Presentations. (2020) Digital Learning @ Queens.

A great resource, which makes approaching accessibility considerations when designing presentations look easy and achievable.

Universal Design for Learning Framework, CAST

The UDL framework guides the design of instructional goals, assessments, methods, and materials that can be customised and adjusted to meet individual needs.

Universal Design supporting neurodiverse learners:

The key to teaching a single curriculum to a diverse group of students who learn differently is to be flexible with the delivery of information and to provide the same content in different formats. For example, many students like to digest information in the form of concise bullet pointed text, while others (e.g. students with Dyslexia) might prefer to receive information as a visual representation such as a mind map or graph/chart. So why not provide the same information in both formats giving students with different learning styles an equal chance to process the information – this is essentially what Universal Design for Learning is all about. (AHEAD, Inclusive Teaching Strategies)

Digital Badge in UDL, National Forum for the Enhancement of Teaching and Learning in Higher Education

The Digital Badge on Universal Design for Learning (UDL) was developed for the National Forum by AHEAD and UCD Access & Lifelong Learning. The concept of the badge is to provide materials and a course design which individual institutions can then roll out with interested parties in their own institution.

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Reports