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Every child deserves to feel that they belong in school and are understood by the professionals responsible for their care. People who are neurodivergent are sometimes described as having learning differences. These conditions on their own do not impact on IQ (although a person may also have a learning disability which does impact IQ), but may mean that learning is accessed more easily in ways that are different from more ‘typical’ learning and teaching styles which have historically dominated the education system.
Exam: Fred flies an aeroplane at 30,000 feet for 150 miles, whilst eating 4 canteloupe melons. He is transporting seventeen elephants to his Uncle Derek. He departed at 5 am. How much does Aunt Nellie weigh? The quote “We see the world, not as it is, but as we are – or, as we are conditioned to see it” by Stephen R. Covey couldn’t ring more true for the estimated 1 in 7 people (more than 15% of people in the UK) classed as neurodivergent. And if you are a teacher, that could mean there are quite a few neurodivergent students in your class. With Neurodiversity week running from the 16th (Saturday) to 20th of May, I thought now would be an ideal time to highlight the subject. What is Neurodiversity? Caitlyn's story is all too familiar to me as I have supported many young people going through similar journeys, as a result of the unconscious bias against neurodiversity that we see in our society today. Further chapters of the book focus on factors and primes, directed numbers, indices, ratio and proportion, algebra, equations and inequalities, and even quadratics. For learners who have already internalised the idea that their way of communicating or socialising is 'wrong’, it may be useful for them to join clubs or groups specifically for neurodivergent young people. Meeting peers who they have things in common with can boost self-esteem, provide a neurodivergent model for successful communication and interaction, and help them to develop social interaction skills in a way which feels comfortable to them in a welcoming environment.I found your presentation both hugely informative and surprisingly comforting - there is a lot to be said for knowing you are not alone, that there are people out there who understand. I highly recommend this comprehensive book for every neurodiverse learner working towards GCSE Maths. It provides valuable insight (for the learner and those working with them) into the challenges being neurodiverse can have on the acquisition of maths, but then offers essential tips on overcoming these challenges to achieve success. The study guide covers fundamental topics in a straightforward, easy to follow way with useful visual images and practical examples to aid understanding. A 'must have' resource. I believe the tide is turning, as you will see from my posts earlier this week some pioneering and world renowned schools and universities are already embarking on change. This change will be hard work, but the results will literally save lives. The term ‘neurodiversity’ was coined by Judy Singer, an Autistic sociologist, in the 1990s. It is the idea that there are many natural variations in the ways that human brains function. Singer argued that traits of some conditions such as Autism, dyslexia and ADHD, which were previously seen as deficits, are in fact normal variations in the brain. People with these neurodivergent traits may have different strengths and challenges to neurotypical people. The word neurodiversity includes all of the many different ways of thinking, learning and processing information that we see in humans.
Parents are often told that they must put more pressure on their children or that they aren't being strict enough. They're told to use 'tough love' but when they try, things get even worse. What's going on? Why are young people reacting in this way - and what can we do to help? A neurodivergent brain processes information differently to someone classed as neurotypical, and this is reflected in thought, behaviour, sociability, learning, attention, mood, and other mental functions. But how can you adapt your teaching approach for neurodivergent students in the classroom? Here are four points to consider: Listen to Understand Thank you for appreciating the reality of the situation for parents. It really means a lot to know that there are professionals out there who really ‘get it’ and who are working so proactively to offer appropriate support and advocate for us.The double empathy problem talks about the idea that autistic people DO actually have social skills. They might look different to neurotypical social skills. The way that a person interacts with other people, the way that a person has conversations. What is deemed okay. And acceptable and rude. The way that body language plays into it. All of these factors contribute to the way that autistic communication can be different from neurotypical communication styles.”
Communication can be challenging for neurodivergent students. Typing may be an easier way for some to articulate themselves and to communicate with others. This is because they are able to control what they are saying and break it down into smaller parts. This section is the meat and potatoes of the whole book. There are 14 chapters dedicated to various mathematical topics. It’s intriguing that the focus is on the numerical side of things rather than on more abstract concepts like probability or shape and space. A neurodiversity affirming approach to social skills is one which appreciates the preferences, interaction styles and communication priorities of neurodivergent individuals, and places the same value on these as the preferences, interaction styles and communication priorities of neurotypical individuals.How many more young people need to lose their lives to the unconscious bias we have about neurodivergent traits before people really sit up and listen? What does a neurodiversity affirming approach to social skills mean, and why do some approaches to social skills teaching need updating? I teach a L3 Teaching Assistant Apprenticeship Program and all my TAs have to pass level 2 functional skills in Maths and English before the end of the program (or have a suitable alternative qualification.). One of my TAs is neurodivergent and is struggling with the functional skills maths. I saw a meme not so long ago that perfectly captures her view on arithmetic. Here are our top tips and useful resources for making your social skills teaching neurodiversity affirming: Neurodiversity affirming approaches provide learners with the skills that they need to be able to communicate and navigate social interactions with confidence and in their preferred way, as well as understand and advocate for their own needs and preferences. This way of teaching social skills supports learners to develop positive relationships with others in a way which they enjoy, and which supports their needs and mental health.
It was a brilliant webinar and every part of it resonated with different experiences I have had with all three of my children. Autistic people are often described as having difficulties with social interaction and communication, and most report that they find it challenging to process and understand the intentions of others within social interactions. However, this problem goes both ways - studies have found that neurotypical people also find it difficult to read the emotions of Autistic people. This was first described by Dr Damien Milton in the early 2010s as the double empathy problem. Wow. I just had to share this. In my opinion this is probably one of the best GCSE maths books for neurodivergent learners on the market. The book is aimed at GCSE students; allowing them to learn about and consider their own learning styles and decide what methods work best for them. It is an empowering book of practical tips and one I would highly recommend. The book gives great clarity on the different learning difficulties encountered by neurodivergent students and how these difficulties specifically impact maths learning. It covers basic maths strategies for a wide range of GCSE topics, and also looks at maths anxiety, revision and exam techniques. I particularly like the style of the book: the use of colour; pictorial representations of ideas; and the simple, unambiguous language. Although aimed at students, I would also highly recommend it to all maths tutors and teachers; who will undoubtedly benefit from the huge amount of strategies it contains to help us, as educators, to think outside the box with how we present material to our students. It is also a book I wish I had had access to when I was doing my own GCSEs! Books like this are simply useful for EVERY learner. Having been a SENDCo and now an SEND Education Consultant, I will be recommending this book far and wide to tutors, teachers, parents and students alike. It is simply brilliant! @JKPBooks @JKPSpecialEducation Judith Hornigold #maths #neurodivergent #mathsanxiety #mathsteacher #mathstutor https://lnkd.in/e6hUG6F6Students are given a better chance of grasping the material that is being presented thanks to the use of visual aids and activities that require them to use multi-sensory approaches. Lessons are highly interactive, which ensures that students are actively involved throughout the whole process of learning. Students will be able to put their newly acquired knowledge to the test with the book’s plenty of practise problems. For a long time, much of the emphasis of social skills teaching has been on supporting neurodivergent learners (in particular Autistic learners) to learn how to interact, socialise and communicate in the same way that neurotypical people tend to. Although this has usually been done with the best of intentions, the more that neurodivergent voices are listened to and learnt from, the more we see that this can in fact cause even greater challenges. Neurotypical children have been able to develop social skills in the way that comes naturally to them, and not expected to alter their social interactions to suit their neurodivergent peers. Neurodivergent children on the other hand have been expected to learn a whole set of challenging rules that do not come naturally and that can feel difficult and uncomfortable, and have been given the message that their own preferred ways are not good enough and need to change. This can cause masking, be detrimental to mental health, and ironically make them feel less confident in social situations and in interactions and communication with others. I have dedicated my life to changing this. My organisation Connections in Mind, which is a community interest company, works with schools to help them to better understand neurodivergent young people and supports professionals to help young people to understand their brains and different brain states better so they can be kinder to themselves and those around them. The schools we work with are changing the way they interact with students on so many levels but most importantly the behaviour policies which, as clearly indicated in the article, cause so much psychological harm to vulnerable young people.
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