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- Rebekah Advocate
- Mar 28
- 2 min read
How to Teach Children and Teenagers About Neurodiversity
11 min
You may recently have begun to hear more use of the words neurodiversity and neurodivergence or neurodivergent. What do they mean, why is teaching children and young people about neurodiversity important, and how can we do it effectively?
What are neurodiversity and neurodivergence?
The term ‘neurodiversity’ was coined by Judy Singer, an Autistic Sociologist, in the 1990s. It refers to the concept that the traits of some conditions such as Autism and ADHD, which may have previously been perceived as deficits, are in fact normal variations in the brain. These variations are often associated with strengths, and although neurodivergent individuals may face challenges in environments designed with the ‘neurotypical’ majority in mind, when environments are designed with neurodiversity in mind, everyone is able to flourish.
Why is it important to teach children and teenagers about neurodiversity?
Teaching young people to value diversity helps to:
Support a culture of tolerance, empathy and understanding
By being encouraged to understand and accept differences between themselves and their peers, our pupils are able to understand why what one person needs to succeed may be different to what another person needs. Understanding that there are different ways of learning, and that we all have individual strengths and challenges, may allow your learners to try out new ways of doing things, and discover what works best for them.
Reinforce each individual's sense of identity, positive self-image and self-esteem
In creating a school culture that values, understands and accepts everyone’s differences, we encourage our pupils to take pride in their own uniqueness, and to value their contribution to the diversity of the classroom - whether that is the cultural and family experiences they bring from home, their skills and talents, their varied interests, or their differing perspectives and ways of thinking, behaving and learning.
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