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The Key to Neuroinclusive Education: Neurodivergent Teachers

Systemic school neuroinclusion calls for supporting neurodivergent educators.

Key points

  • Teachers are typically the first line of support for neurodivergent students.
  • Neurodivergent teachers have uniquely relevant experience, but their needs and even existence are overlooked.
  • Creating neuroinclusive systems benefits and empowers everyone.
Source: tonodiaz 183 / Freepik
Source: tonodiaz 183 / Freepik

Neuroinclusive education is something students need and school administrators promise, yet most systems struggle to deliver year after year. An important missing link might be supporting and welcoming the input of neurodivergent teachers.

Teachers are typically the first line of ensuring inclusion for neurodivergent students, asked to adapt lessons, strategies, and environments to meet diverse needs. But what happens when the teacher is neurodivergent? Too often, the needs of neurodivergent educators and their very existence are overlooked. They are left unsupported in a system that demands flexibility and caring but gives none in return. They are not heard in a system that needs their input to make improvements that matter.

Schools are living, interconnected communities, and the lack of support for teachers is a problem for students, parents, and the broader society. Humans can’t endlessly pour from an empty cup. If neurodivergent teachers aren’t included, can we expect them to continuously create inclusive environments for neurodivergent students?

And if they burn out and leave the profession, where will those students find professional role models with similar lived experiences?

We Don’t Grow Out of Being Neurodivergent

Neurodivergence isn’t something we grow out of—and neurodivergent talent is found across occupations. Dyslexic children grow to be dyslexic professionals, autistic children become autistic educators, and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) does not disappear when someone earns a school administrator credential.

Neurodivergence does not disappear just because others may not see it. We might master professional skills and the exhausting work of social masking. In many environments, we do not disclose our differences or disabilities because of the well-founded fear of discrimination. Yet, these differences continue to shape how neurodivergent educators process information, manage workloads, and interact with their environments.

Traditional schools are built on rigid structures and standardized expectations—packed schedules, noisy events, and endless paperwork. Regardless of commitment to students, expertise, and passion for their fields, neurodivergent teachers may be particularly impacted by many of the same stressors as their students—like sensory overload from bright lights, loud hallways, all-school rallies, constant interruptions, relentless social demands, and bullying.

These challenges don’t mean neurodivergent teachers are less capable. On the contrary, a lived neurodivergent experience often means they bring exceptional creativity, problem-solving skills, and empathy to the classroom. It can help identify and address the causes of struggles of neurodivergent students. It can inform unique explanations of tricky concepts. It can be a source of encouragement for learners struggling with cognitive, emotional, or social aspects of schooling.

But without understanding and support, exercising these strengths can be thwarted by unnecessary barriers. Without the voice and participation of those with lived experience of exclusion, systems will remain exclusionary.

The Impact on Neurodivergent Students

Neurodivergent teachers have the potential to model for students and communities that differences can be strengths, not deficits. For neurodivergent students, interacting with a teacher who understands their challenges can be life-changing. It sends a powerful message: “You’re not alone. You’re not broken. You can thrive.”

But when neurodivergent teachers are unsupported, when they cannot disclose, their ability to serve as role models is diminished. This also leaves neurodivergent students without insider advocates who truly “get it.”

If schools fail to support neurodivergent educators, they fail their neurodivergent students as well.

Designing Neuroinclusive School Systems

Individual-level accommodations for neurodivergent educators, such as quieter workspaces or scheduling flexibility, are a helpful start. Yet, true neuroinclusion in schools calls for a bolder, systemic change.

When neurodivergent teachers and students struggle, they function as canaries in coal mines warning miners of toxic gases. Their struggles are an early warning to others because while they might be the first to react to stressors in the physical and psychological environment, others are not immune to harm either. Creating systems that welcome and support canaries benefits everyone. This concept is developed in detail in my book, The Canary Code: A Guide to Neurodiversity, Dignity, and Intersectional Belonging at Work, with Chapter 3 providing some education-specific examples.

To build truly neuroinclusive school systems, we must go beyond reactive accommodations and toward proactive transformation. This means redesigning systems with meaningful participation of neurodivergent voices. The six Canary Code principles—participation, transparency, flexibility, evaluation by outcomes, valid measurement, and justice—offer a blueprint for systemic change that empowers everyone, including neurodivergent students and educators.

  • Participation: Neuroinclusive change starts with welcoming neurodivergent perspectives in decision-making. Inclusion at schools calls for participatory structures, such as advisory councils, where neurodivergent students, teachers, parents, and community members contribute to shaping policies and practices, leading neuroinclusion conversations. Rigorous participatory research based on respect and representation should provide empirical evidence for informing new policies. Multi-modal engagement tools—like remote participation, accessible surveys, or inclusive workshops—can ensure everyone’s voice is heard, regardless of communication style.
  • Transparency: Open communication, real-time feedback loops, and accessible records of decision-making processes ensure that neurodivergent communities' participation isn’t performative. Many modern digital platforms can make this transparency tangible, mapping areas of consensus and dissent among stakeholders.
  • Flexibility: To meet diverse needs, flexibility must be a guiding principle of system design. For educators, flexible schedules and co-teaching opportunities by teachers with complementary strengths can align with neurodivergent work styles and reduce burnout. Co-design workshops with neurodivergent stakeholders can create adaptive learning spaces such as sensory-friendly classrooms or digital options. For students, schools could augment the rigid age-based grade progression with mastery-based modules allowing for flexible learning paths based on proficiency in different subjects. Such mastery-based learning can support the development of student skills, self-motivation, and self-determination, as well as provide more opportunities to experience genuine success.
  • Evaluation by outcomes: Inclusive education is often confused with lowering standards and handing out “participation trophies.” But truly inclusive education means inclusive excellence and developing everyone’s strengths. Learning outcomes, not mere compliance or attendance, should be the measure of success. Schools should evaluate how well students master learning while providing flexibility in achieving these learning goals.
  • Valid measurement: Assessments must measure what matters, avoiding tools that disadvantage some of the learners. High-stakes, timed tests often fail to capture true mastery. Instead, schools should increase the use of varied, accessible, and authentic assessment methods, from portfolios to projects. Valid measurement extends to teacher evaluations, which should focus on objective performance and avoid subjectivity and bias.
  • Justice: Justice in schools means addressing systemic barriers, such as policies that adversely impact neurodivergent people. Policies should ensure fair treatment for all, with neurodivergent stakeholders co-creating solutions to eliminate bias and support belonging.

By embedding The Canary Code principles into every aspect of education, schools can move beyond superficial inclusion. They can truly become places where every mind matters—student and educator alike.

Building a Culture of Inclusion in Education

It’s time for schools to go beyond repainting outdated systems. It’s time for systemic change, and inclusion and meaningful participation of neurodivergent educators is an essential part of this change. If we expect teachers to create environments where students thrive, we must extend the same effort to the educators themselves. When they are heard and respected, they become role models, advocates, and innovators who can truly help neurodivergent students learn, dream, and take flight.

References

Ludmila N. Praslova. How to Weigh the Risks of Disclosing a Disability. Harvard Business Review. May 7, 2024.

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