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Cook: If you’ve heard the ‘why’ behind my work as an attorney, educator, and neurodiversity advocate, you know that the foundation of every career decision I’ve made thus far has been “to make sense of my own brain and empower others to do the same.” As I sit at my computer at almost midnight reflecting on how far I and my team have come in accomplishing this mission, I feel both proud and anxious.
The work that we’ve been blessed to do over the years has fostered a great sense of accomplishment. Equally, and perhaps less obvious, the closer we get to the goal of achieving equity for ourselves as neurodivergent individuals, I feel an overwhelming sense of anxiety. Why? Because, after years of launching different versions of the same vision over and over… and over again (fine-tuning with every iteration), our work has finally reached a point of scalability significant enough to warrant the draining, yet weirdly motivational critique of the masses. Or maybe, just maybe… it’s because, deep in the crevices of my soul, I understand that there exists some child, in some under-resourced community, with a brilliant mind but limited resources, waiting for educators to be the advocates they need… the forces powerful enough to withstand detractors… the disruptors of systemic barriers erected long before their time… and the answers to a plethora of questions that they cannot yet formulate the words to ask. That being said, on students’ behalf, here are five things to keep in mind when educating diagnosed (and yet to be diagnosed) neurodivergent students, with attention to culture. As Tumi stated: “Living with the intersectionality of being a black man with dyspraxia presents the challenge of disentangling whether social barriers presented are due to race or neurodivergence”.
Consideration 1 – Stress Impairs Academic Performance and Breeds Executive Dysfunction Without Adequate Support
If, as an educator, you’ve planned your semester seeking to encourage stronger organizational and time-management skills by attaching grades to the ability to maintain perfectly managed notebooks or meet rigid assignment deadlines, perhaps that approach (while well-intentioned) is worth reconsidering. Notably,ADHD,OCD, and several other common exceptionalities are accompanied byexecutive functioning challenges that make these tasks far more difficult than one might imagine. That being said, it’s advisable to familiarize oneself with various forms of executive dysfunction and offersupport rather than judgment, as students’ inability to meet certain non-academic requests might be beyond their control – despite their best efforts. Added to this are fundamental considerations that must be addressed to also be culturally responsive.
Consideration 2 – Not All Neurodivergent Students Have IEPs and/or 504 Plans
Given that many neurodivergent students have yet to be diagnosed, the first consideration should apply whether or not students have IEPs and/or 504 plans. By not applying this consideration across the board, educators fail to take into account thehigh number of undiagnosed, yet equally symptomatic, students facingchallenges that fall completely under the radar. This fosterschronic stress and low self-esteem.
As more widespread awareness of various neuropsychological disorders continues, stigmas attached to pursuing treatment and accommodations have begun to decline. Interestingly, however,challenges regarding the feasibility of equitably providing resources necessary for these students to thrive have grown exponentially as policymakers and academic leaders seek to negate the validity of many diagnoses and the necessary funding to support said students. Embedded in this consideration is the reality of unjust school funding for Black and some other students of color. This oftenleaves our students struggling without recourse. In sum, it is imperative that educators go the extra and necessary mile to remain vigilant, informed and empathetic as they are often the only direct sources of support (and, thus, hope) that many students have.
Consideration 3 – Not All Students Have The Wherewithal To Articulate Their Needs
For neurodivergent students, finding the words to articulate their respective plights can often be just as draining as facing the challenges themselves. This is especially true for nonverbal students. As such, learners who are attempting tomanage their schoolwork with little success due to neurological struggles require significantly more observation, anticipative planning, and curricular differentiation. Albeit time-consuming, efforts to assist these students in overcoming their challenges can pay huge dividends – when implemented with fidelity. That being said, it is important to always assume the best and choose to believe in students’ deep desire to succeed, even when their initial actionsdon’t seem to align.
Consideration 4 – It Is Possible To Possess Heightened Intellectual Capacity AND Have Neurological Challenges
Although the term twice exceptional (2e) has existed since1975, many educators still face difficulty wrapping their minds around the fact that students can indeed face neurological struggles while also possessing exceptionally high cognitive and/or academic ability (i.e., intellectually and/or academically gifted). For this reason, educators and non-educators tend to either negate students’ heightened intellectual ability when their neurological disorders are apparent, or inversely ignore students’ neurological struggles when their intellectual and academic strengths shine brightly.​​ This is particularly the case when students are Black and minoritized when educators have low expectations of them and cultural clashes. Accordingly, educators seeking to make sense of this duality might not understand why some students, especially students of color who are inequitably underrepresented in gifted and talented programs, can accomplish indisputably impressive feats on one hand while struggling to complete seemingly simple tasks on the other. It is important to realize that 2e students seeking to find balance in their academic, cultural, and personal lives face unique challenges that require the perfect combination of intellectual freedom, structured support, cultural respect, and emotional safety to reach theirhighest potential.
Consideration 5 – Designing and Implementing Solutions That Work Is Difficult, But Not Impossible
No matter how difficult it becomes to attend to the individual needs of each student, it is not, and will never be, impossible – with the proper wraparound support, hope, and high expectations. With minoritized 2e students, culture must be considered, given high regard. Ouroutreach initiative, and many other organizations with similar missions, exist to serve as solution-oriented thought partners and advocates on behalf of all who dare to make the world better for a population that has been misunderstood and ignored for far too long.
As Ford contends, not only is a mind a terrible thing to waste (United Negro College Fund), a mind is a terrible thing to erase.
Nichelle N. Cook is an attorney and Founder and CEO of Practegy Educational Services, Inc.
Dr. Donna Y. Ford is a Distinguished Professor of Education and Human Ecology in the College of Education and Human Ecology at The Ohio State University