Every student, no matter their learning difficulties, has unique needs in order to effectively gain new skills and knowledge. This post aims to give some suggestions based on my own lived experience in multiple different education systems and through tutoring many neurodivergent students, especially those with attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

When setting up for a learning session try not to be tied to one location; have options for environments that have low or high stimuli depending on the students needs. If unable to move locations try to have adjustable lighting, reduced clutter, aromatherapy options, a quiet area with a music player option, fidget devices, and comfort snacks on hand. 

Always do checkins before starting a session assessing a student's emotions, energy levels, and ability to focus. For students with alexithymia, low internal awareness, I suggest using a color chart for emotion identification, and a body scan for identifying and releasing tension. Grounding, visualization, or breathing exercises are also good for setting the tone for a productive session. 

During the session, keep an eye out for signs of overstimulation to take a break before overwhelm or shutdown occurs. Encourage the student to monitor themselves for these signs as well; getting easily distracted, not following along/confusion, tightness building in the chest, feeling anxious, stressed or panicked, etc. I would encourage coming up with nonverbal cues that the student can give you to indicate they need you to slow down, rewind, or take a break. Even in the absence of these signs it is always helpful to take breaks at frequent or regular intervals doing things such as: 

When behavioral issues arise never punish a student because these are typically unconscious, uncontrollable actions and a form of communication. Instead, approach the situation with curiosity and find out what is triggering the behavior. If you cannot eliminate the problem trigger, direct the student to a healthier way to respond or cope with the trigger.

For students with high demand avoidance, especially those with Pathological Demand Avoidance (PDA), don't be afraid to abandon the session altogether for a later date. Trying to get a student to push through demand avoidance will only ensure that very little information is retained as the student will disengage, go into overwhelm or shutdown. In the worst case scenario, a student may even refuse to engage in that subject anymore.

It is important to design flexibility in the curriculum so that students can engage in different forms of activities in order to complete learning objectives. In addition, have the flexibility to pivot to a different learning method if student engagement declines or a strong resistance develops. Incorporating special interests into learning materials may also help to increase and maintain student engagement. Examples of how to integrate special interests include: 

Engaging in special interests as a reward for task completion may be helpful but be mindful of some students becoming too impatient to focus on the work whilst waiting for the reward. For this reason, I prefer incorporating special interests into the material.

When doing tasks or exercises, make sure to break them down into smaller parts or steps. For visual learners, color code each step and incorporate images where possible. After solving a problem, ask students what they could have done differently in order to encourage critical thinking about alternative approaches. There is rarely only one way to solve a problem and trying different approaches will help the student identify what works best for them. Furthermore, the whole process will help to store the information in long term memory, especially for auditory learners.

End each session with a routine that encourages the release of anxiety built up during the session and that will also hopefully foster anticipation for future learning. Routines could include: 

Another possible closing is to empower the student to contribute to their own educational experience by giving them the opportunity to choose a special interest to incorporate into your next lesson - this can also be presented as a homework assignment.

In summary, there is no one size fits all approach when trying to effectively teach a subject. Instead, one must first discover how a student learns, what their struggles are, and what their ideal educational environment is. When educating a group of students, there have to be some compromises but it is best to take a democratic approach rather than an authoritarian one when trying to come up with solutions. This ensures that the students feel heard and respected and are therefore much more willing to go outside of their comfort zones in order continue to engage. 

All of these strategies take time and patience to enact that not all educators have an abundance of. Mistakes will be made and unforeseen difficulties will arise. The key is to keep trying and to apologize when the ball is dropped. No one is perfect and that is also a very important lesson for us to pass on to our students.

You can watch a talk by Rebecca Prejean on developing neurodivergent-inclusive elearning experiences below: