Tips for Supporting Neurodiverse Students

Clear Communication Strategies

  • Use direct language

  • Avoid “figures of speech” like metaphors, idioms, and analogies.

  • Many neurodiverse individuals will not understand these types of language and do better with direct, straight-forward language.

  • Avoid open-ended questions and rhetorical questions when possible

  • For many neurodiverse individuals, open-ended questions have too many unknown variables to allow for a confident answer.

  • Most neurodiverse people have difficulty knowing when a question is rhetorical and will try to answer these questions.

  • Provide written materials for students to allow them to review and process information, especially on complex topics.

  • Academic plans, resource lists, and contact information

  • Provide explicit instructions (short, direct statements) and expectations.

  • Many neurodiverse individuals fail to understand social cues and implicit meanings or implied ideas.

  • Provide clear/transparent information on deadlines  

  • Provide multimodal ways to access information to allow the individual a method that best aligns with their thinking/abilities/strengths

  • Oral, Written (email or docs) and Video

  • Create accessible documents containing headings, captions, alt text, etc.

Other Considerations

  • Many individuals may need information repeated or questions answered multiple times to understand content. Many neurodiverse individuals have slower mental processing times and requirement more time to understand an idea or specific information.

  • Patience is critical when working with neurodiverse individuals.

  • Be flexible when possible and allow neurodiverse individuals choices.

  • Virtual meetings over in-person only format

  • For some neurodiverse individuals, coming to an in-person meeting may requirement more mental energy for dealing with sensory issues, finding/navigating the physical environment, and interacting with other people.

  • Offer choices but not too many choices (as neurodiverse individuals need high autonomy but are also easily overwhelmed).

  • Explain underlying “whys” instead of just telling students what to do. Many neurodiverse individuals deal with demand avoidance and will resist doing things if given no choice/autonomy in the process

  • Be aware of sensory issues (light, noise, strong odors, etc.) and create welcoming spaces with limited visual/sensory stimuli.

Created with systeme.io