neurodiversity

Redefining Dyslexia

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Executive functioning skills are critical to memory, attention, organizing, and planning—among many other tasks important to learning and teaching. In a recent workshop, CETL explored how instructors

“Sending you light” felt kind to say when I heard a colleague wasn't feeling well. But I soon learned, it wasn’t what they needed. That was the moment I realized: Even our most well-intentioned words can miss the mark if we don’t ask or know what support actually looks like. April is Neurodiversity Acceptance Month, and I’ve been learning and reflecting on how often traditional ideas of comfort, calm, and connection are built around social norms—and how that unintentionally leaves people out. Here are two moments from last week that shifted how I show up: 💡 Sometimes people need darkness, not light. When someone is overwhelmed—by migraines, sensory overload, or emotional exhaustion—“light” can feel like pressure. What they may need instead: rest, stillness, and silence. 🌟 Shout out to Melissa Arcand for teaching me this one! 💡Stillness doesn’t calm everyone. After reading Karen Catlin’s “5 Allyship Actions You Can Take Today” and in conversations with panelists from Bonterra's "Neurodiversity at Work" Lunch and Learn, I realized how often we associate deep breathing and stillness with calm. But for some Neurodiverse individuals, movement—rocking, tapping, pacing—is what regulates and soothes. Stillness can feel like stress, not peace. 🎬Here are 5 more small shifts that can carry a big inclusion impact: 🔸 Eye contact isn’t a universal sign of respect or engagement. Listening matters more than where your eyes land. 🔸 “This is easy” can unintentionally exclude. Instead: “Here’s a breakdown” or “Let me know if anything’s unclear.” 🔸 Silence doesn’t mean someone’s disengaged. It could mean they’re processing or reflecting. Give space. 🔸 Movement on camera can help some focus—but distract others. Co-create norms: speak up, use speaker view, turn off self-view if needed. Empathy works both ways. 🔸 “Happy hours” aren’t happy for everyone. Offer quiet, asynchronous, or one-on-one connection options too. These may seem like small adjustments—but they’re part of building the kind of workplace where every kind of brain and every kind of brilliance belongs. Inclusion lives in the details. Allyship lives in the questions. Empathy lives in the pause. Let’s keep learning. Let’s keep listening. Let’s keep growing. #NeurodiversityAcceptanceMonth #InclusiveLeadership #Allyship #Belonging

Before I introduce The Neurodiversity Smorgasbord, I would like to acknowledge that this framework which I started to develop in 2022 has been inspired, shaped, influenced by movements that have come before as well as Mad, Disabled and Neurodivergent Indigenous and Black scholars, thinkers, writers

In today’s episode we discuss neurodiversity, terminology, and multiple strategies to support neurodivergent students in areas such as focus, attention, and motivation, organization and structure, …

Everyone's brain is different, and if we set up our schools in a way that makes room for many variations, we'll all be better off.

Join Kate Griggs for an in-depth discussion in this video, Dyslexics are the future, part of Empowering Dyslexic Thinking at Work.

Does retrieval practice improve learning for neurodiverse learners ? Yes! Learn about the newest research, including students with developmental language disorders, Down syndrome, dyslexia, and ADHD.

Today on the podcast I talk with Mariel Pfeifer, assistant professor of biology. Mariel started at Ole Miss just about a year ago as part of a cluster hire of three STEM faculty who are on the tenure track at UM doing disciplinary based education research. I was excited to hear Mariel was coming to the university because I was already familiar with her work. Back in the spring of 2023, I lead a faculty learning community on the topic of active learning in large enrollment STEM courses, and we read her study on the experiences of neurodivergent students in active learning STEM classes. As Mariel points out in our conversation, a lot of the traditional accommodations we use for students with learning disabilities assume that a college course is full of lectures and exams, but that’s not as true for STEM courses as it once was. Mariel shares lots of insight into the student experience in these courses and has practical advice for instructors interested in helping more students succeed. Episode Resources·       Mariel Pfeifer’s lab website, https://www.pfeiferlab.com/·

This spring Holly Tilbrook presented as part of a panel titled “Neurodivergent Learners (and Earners!) in Postsecondary Education” at the UPCEA annual conference. Holly is a deputy director of the Academic Centres at the University of Cambridge’s Institute of Continuing Education. That institute offers a variety of postsecondary learning opportunities for students of all ages, from onsite weekend courses to online certificate programs to degree programs offered across various modalities. Many of Holly’s students aren’t just learners, they’re earners, in the sense that they are active participants in the workforce. I wanted to know what Holly has been learning about supporting students with ADHD and other types of neurodivergence, particularly adult students and online students. I reached out to Holly via LinkedIn, where she posts thoughtful reflections on her work on a regular basis, and she was glad to talk with me. In our conversation, we discuss ways to build trust with neurodivergent students, accommodations that can more authentically meet these students’ needs, and helping neurodivergent students enter or re-enter the workforce. Episode Resources·       Holly Tilbrook on LinkedIn, https://www.linkedin.com/in/hebtilbook/ ·       Institute of Continuing Education, University of Cambridge, https://www.ice.cam.ac.uk/ ·       Still Distracted After All These Years: Help and Support for Older Adults with ADHD by Kathleen Nadeau, https://amzn.to/3ze0pt8

Embed these four strategies into your courses to tap into the strengths of your neurodivergent students while helping them make critical connections to the course material and their classmates and develop essential executive functioning skills.

Written by Marisa Hamamoto Quoting Reverend Desmond Tutu, “Language does not just describe reality. Language creates the reality it describes.” Language evolves, as culture and society evolve. As we learn more about autism, we realize the importance of using words that respect everyone's unique experience. Changing how we talk about autism helps everyone feel included

Tamara (Tami) Shetron shares a vision of higher education for all (including those with intellectual and developmental disabilities on episode 507 of the Teaching in Higher Ed podcast

Will Hennessy shares about fostering neurodivergent learners’ growth on episode 499 of the Teaching in Higher Ed podcast

Universal Design for Learning (UDL) is a learning framework for curriculum and course development rooted in three areas: multiple means of representation of...

neurodiversity autism adhd mental health bipolar disorder PTSD autistic author autistic keynote speaker

Todd Zakrajsek shares about the ones who are too often left behind in higher education on episode 494 of the Teaching in Higher Ed podcast

Many discussions of inclusive teaching practices ignore the role of neurodiversity in higher ed. In this episode, Liz Norell joins us to discuss strategies that faculty and institutions can use to create a welcoming environment for neurodivergent students and faculty. Liz is a political scientist and the Associate Director of Instructional Support at the University of Mississippi’s Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning.

Sarah Silverman shares an introduction to neurodiversity on episode 484 of the Teaching in Higher Ed podcast

by Liz Norell, associate director of instructional support In our August 8 blog, we shared a preview of our September 8 workshop on supporting neurodivergent students, including the following definitions of key terms: Neurodivergent: a person with a brain that processes information in a way different from most individuals. Neurotypical: a person with a brain […]

We are responsible for creating courses and learning spaces that embrace the rich diversity of our students.

If you’ve taught in higher education for any length of time, you’ve probably had one or more students with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, better known as ADHD, in your courses. You might not have known it, however, since some students w...

June 20, 2023 Glennon Doyle: Welcome to We Can Do Hard Things. Big Treat for you today. We have a extraordinary thinker and writer that I have loved for a very long time. I have read every single thing she's written. Her name is Katherine May and she is the New York Times bestselling author of...