We all think differently

The header for the article reads “What is Neurodiversity?” and I pondered the question knowing I had heard the word before but could not recall where. Upon further reading of the Child Mind Institute article, I recalled that I had seen and used the word in an undergraduate special education class. The article argues that the word neurodiversity takes many shapes depending upon how the person or people using the word define the term. In a general sense the word is defined to describe an individual's differences in how their brain works. The term is mainly used to describe individuals with ADHD, autism, and learning disabilities, but may take any form as it relates to one’s thoughts. Although the word exists, I rarely hear it in practice. On documentation for students we will still use the word autism or ADHD. Why haven’t schools shifted to using the words neurodiverse and in parentheses defining what the individual's specific neurodiversity is? What is the pushback? When will the shift occur, will it ever? 

One of the main quotes that stuck out to me was as follows, “Instead of thinking of people with autism or ADHD as needing to be ‘fixed,’ we put a spotlight on things that they’re good at and help with things that they’re working on” (Miller, 2026). When reading this quote, it immediately took me back to “Shifting the Paradigm”. We are furthering the idea of identifying students strengths to also their abilities. A student being neurodiverse should not serve as a deficit but rather an asset to their learning in new ways. I think many times teachers want to “fix” the neurodivergent students to conform to the “normalities of school”. I use quotes with that term because who defines the normalities, those in power. Asking a student who is neurodivergent with ADHD to sit for an hour is not using their strengths. A child with ADHD may need to get up and move around, this could include passing out materials, doing a portion of a lesson with a teacher, having the students model an expectation. There are so many opportunities to use the students' neurodiversity as a strength rather than a downfall to their learning. The previous statement is extremely overgeneralized and may not be true for all students with ADHD, so instead we should learn how a student’s diagnosis of ADHD impacts their learning. 

The article touches upon the idea of the environment. The article reads, “That’s why another focus of the movement is to encourage changes in environments … — to make them more welcoming and open to those who think, process and learn differently” (Miller, 2026). When you walk into a school many times the environment is not ideal for a neurodiverse student. Most rooms have bright lights, hard desks, and strict time frames. This makes learning hard for many individuals. I think there are many ways to combat this and I see some of them implemented and others that fall to the waistside. Flexible seating is a great option for many neurodiverse students. I know that I could not sit at a ceramic desk all day. Adjustable lighting so a teacher can adjust how bright the lights are in the room. It does not need to look like Lasalette (RI natives you get me) when you walk in. Lastly, flexible due dates within reason. I think that due dates and being timely is an important life skill, but how can we make it more approachable for neurodiverse learners? I don’t necessarily have an answer, but it is a good question to ask and brainstorm about.  

An interesting perspective from the article was the stance on using the word neurodiversity to describe one’s own individual thinking approach regardless if you have a diagnosis. I think with this stance, all individuals would be neurodiverse to some degree which is rather fascinating. I think that idea highlights the importance of the word. Being neurodiverse should not represent a stigma but rather it should be something that one is proud of. Immediately when you hear the word ADHD or autism you gain a perception of an individual even if you do not know the person. When we use the word neurodiverse, you lose the stereotype of what an individual with neurodiversity looks, talks, and acts like. Since neurodiversity is so broad it breaks the cycle of stigmatizing a word. I hope to see the word implemented more regularly throughout the school environment in both documentation and in conversation.