As we gear up for another school year we need to keep in mind that in order to respect neurodiversity and promote a culture of not just acceptance but celebration of diversity we need to be looking honestly and critically at some of the things we’ve been taught and ask ourselves whether we are putting in the work to meet kids where they are (not where we think they should be). Where to look for practices that might need adjusting:
•how you expect your students to demonstrate being “ready to learn”
•how will you support learning for students with various modalities of communication
•how you embed opportunities for your students to choose how, when and where they complete learning activities
•how you support your students in developing self advocacy skills (including consent)
•how you will support self regulation and honour requests for time and space.
•how you will incorporate the lived experiences of your students into learning and goal setting.
•how you will support and facilitate social engagement without forcing or requiring it .
What else can you think of? Let's start the dialogue and normalize celebration of neurodiversity as a core value in education!
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