Book in progress: An Introduction to Neurodiversity for Educators

And some overlaps with "Beyond the Scope"

Although I will likely post again later this week, I wanted to share some exciting news here. I signed a contract to publish a book about neurodiversity and teaching in the Teaching, Engaging, and Thriving in Higher Ed Series at University of Oklahoma Press with the working title “An Introduction to Neurodiversity for Educators.” The book will draw and expand on the consulting work that I have been doing over the past few years to provide faculty and staff in higher education the foundation to start engaging with neurodiversity in their work.

I decided to share about this here because I think what I am trying to do with the book project aligns with the approach of this newsletter in a lot of ways. As with many ideas and frameworks that can inform our teaching for the better, I believe educators can benefit from a comprehensive engagement with neurodiversity that doesn’t rush to “practical strategies” or checklists. I call this comprehensive engagement developing a “neurodiversity literacy,” which includes detailed histories and definitions for key terms, information on the key thinkers and communities which helped develop neurodiversity concepts, and how neurodiversity overlaps with and differs from disability (and implications for academic accommodations).

One of the ideas I hope to introduce in the book is “teaching in the neurodiversity paradigm.” As I wrote about on this newsletter, I’ve been interested in the “neurodiversity paradigm” for a while. This is a philosophical idea that provides an alternative to the assumption that there is a “right” type of brain. Instead, the neurodiversity paradigm suggests there is no inherently “right” way to think, behave, or communicate, even as our embrace of this diversity may present some of its own challenges. As someone who thinks constantly about the connections between teaching, faculty development, and disability, I have found myself extending this paradigm to teaching and learning: if there is no “right” way to think, behave or communicate, there can’t possibly be one “right” way to teach or learn.

Teaching in the neurodiversity paradigm will require an embrace of neurodiversity and all the opportunities and challenges it presents, which likely goes beyond adherence to a checklist of practices. I frame “teaching in the neurodiversity paradigm” as a practice of navigation and negotiation of multiple, sometimes contrasting needs among students and teachers (often resulting in access friction). I offer questions to ask your students and yourself as an instructor, assumptions to reconsider, and ways of thinking that can help you become more aware of and responsive to neurodiversity in your practice. Of course, and as I will hopefully discuss in the book, this approach draws significant inspiration from both UDL and feminist pedagogy.

Readers can expect each chapter of the book to introduce an important piece of history or context related to neurodiversity, with the goal of developing their “neurodiversity literacy” and sparking reflection on how the neurodiversity paradigm can (re)shape teaching practice. I am really excited to be working on this and to hopefully share more with you all soon.

As always, feel free to visit my website to learn more about my other work and consulting services, or to contact me at any time.

Photo by Patrick Tomasso on Unsplash