Rewiring how neurodiversity is taught in the classroom

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September 30, 2024

As many as one in five children in the UK are neurodivergent, with the majority attending mainstream education. A major project is improving their experience in school.

The concept of neurodiversity – a term first coined nearly three decades ago – helps to capture the complexity of the human brain. We are all unique in how we think, feel and learn, because our brains process information differently.

While everyone is unique, most people are neurotypical – their brains process information in a relatively similar way. People who process information differently than the majority may be neurodivergent. This group can include those who have a diagnosis, such as ADHD, autism, dyslexia or dyspraxia, or a combination of these, as well as those who don’t.

“At the heart of the neurodiversity paradigm is the recognition that there is no single ‘correct’ or ‘normal’ type of processing,” explains Dr Alyssa Alcorn, a researcher from the University’s Salvesen Mindroom Research Centre. “Being neurodivergent is less common, not less-than.”

Despite this, neurodivergent children face several barriers to success, particularly in mainstream education. Problems such as bullying and social isolation can be caused, or made worse, by classmates and staff who don’t understand them.

Illustration of three schoolchildren sat at a table doing work. One is happily working, another appears worried, and another is frustrated. — Pupils are not always aware that their peers may be having very different experiences to themselves – even in the same classroom.

Inclusive classrooms

“Teaching about neurodiversity, not neurodivergence alone, is important to create an inclusive classroom. All members of the class are part of its diversity,” continues Dr Alcorn.

“Learning about the diverse ways in which our brains work is as important as learning about our cultural and social differences. But while topics like religion and ethnicity are discussed in the classroom, neurodiversity isn’t covered in any official curriculum in the UK.”

LEANS – Learning About Neurodiversity at School – is designed to fill that gap. Developed by a team including Dr Alcorn and Professors Sue Fletcher-Watson and Sarah McGeown from the University of Edinburgh, LEANS is a free resource for mainstream primary schools to learn about neurodiversity in a positive, engaging and age-appropriate way.

Aimed at children aged eight to 11, LEANS aims to improve knowledge and foster positive attitudes and inclusive actions among classmates.

“When we are listening to families about the experience of their neurodivergent children in schools, it’s often a very poor experience,” says Dr Dinah Aitken, a family advice and support practitioner, and a member of the LEANS research team.

“Part of their frustration is around the lack of knowledge and awareness of neurodiversity in the school community as a whole. It can be really transformative for children to be educated in an atmosphere where people are understanding and aware of their needs.”

Illustration of a collage of photographs featuring a diverse group children and adults doing different activities — Schools in the UK nations and Ireland currently teach about many types of diversity, but not about neurodiversity.

Realistic scenarios

In LEANS, a mix of discussions, hands-on activities and videos are delivered alongside a multi-part story about a neurodiverse class of children, set in the fictional Bubbleburn Primary School.

The stories are used to introduce children to a wide range of experiences and people, reflecting the world we live in. As well as helping children to understand new ideas and concepts, they can help them to understand themselves and others better.

“The stories allow us to be quite specific about what people may be experiencing at school, or finding easy or difficult or exciting, but without putting anyone in the real classroom on the spot,” Dr Alcorn explains.

“There’s no singling out. We don’t want individual pupils, especially neurodivergent pupils, to be on the spot at any point during the activities and feel pushed to disclose their personal experiences or other information they may not want to share.”

Neurodiverse foundations

The materials included in LEANS were developed by a neurodiverse team of researchers and educators, including neurotypical people as well as a number of those who identify as neurodivergent.

This mix of perspectives was crucial in helping the team to capture the diversity that can exist inside the classroom, and in a way that accurately represents the experience of those who are neurodivergent.

“Having a neurodiverse design team made it possible to bring out stories which feel authentic, drawing directly from people’s personal experiences of school,” says Fergus Murray, a science teacher and member of the LEANS research team. “This includes experience as teachers, because everyone in the design team has some kind of education background, and in many cases as neurodivergent kids themselves.

“Research on neurodiversity-related topics should always do what this project did, which was involve neurodivergent people from the start.

“We recruited a neurodiverse team, we got feedback at every stage, and we polled the community about whether the overall approach was a good one. In a lot of ways, I think it’s been a model of good practice.”

Embracing differences

Between August and December 2021, in the throes of the Covid pandemic, LEANS was tested in seven classrooms across Scotland. Children were quizzed before and after they used the materials, to see if they gained new knowledge about neurodiversity, and whether the content influenced their attitudes to each other or the actions they intended to take at school.

The results of the study were positive. After taking part in LEANS, children showed an understanding of words and concepts related to neurodiversity and demonstrated inclusive attitudes when asked to make judgements about fictional school situations.

One child summarised their learning by explaining that “everyone is different and that you don’t have to be the same as everyone else… you can just be you.”

Teachers also saw improvements in their class, with one commenting, “I think that studying LEANS genuinely made an impact on the class. I think it helped children to have a better understanding of the way others are/feel, and also why learning can be different and is delivered differently to them.”

The illustration shows four schoolchildren disagreeing over how to record their plan. Three are making a drawing on the floor. One child, who has a frustrated expression, is stood next to the group with writing on paper. — LEANS activities discuss how people can be different in the communication they find hard or easy. In this scene from a LEANS story, group members disagree about whether it’s “better” to record their plan by making a drawing or writing it in words.

Life-long impact

Following the evaluation, the materials were tweaked, finalised and are now free to download and use in schools not just in the UK, but across the world – they’ve already passed the milestone of 10,000 downloads from more than 80 countries. For Dr Alcorn and team, it’s the first step in a longer journey to formally embed the concept of neurodiversity in the curriculum.

Given the large number of neurodivergent children in mainstream schools, initiatives like LEANS could help to support an inclusive environment, with benefits for everyone.

For the neurodivergent individuals who were involved in the development of the materials, the potential impact feels personal.

“My experiences at school impacted on my adult life to the extent that at age 52, I feel as if it is only now that I’m starting to flourish,” says Sarah Douglas, a LEANS design team member and former learning support assistant. “Even though society is now more aware about different brain wiring like autism, harmful stereotyping is widespread and there still isn’t a great amount of understanding or acceptance.

“LEANS gets to the absolute heart of what it means to grow up with a different brain wiring in a world that can be hostile to difference. And it offers ways for the school community to think about these differences so that all children can thrive.”