What is Neurodiversity? Blog post for week of 11/5

              "What is Neurodiversity?" by Child Mind Institute

 

https://nationalautismresources.com/fidgets-in-the-classroom/?srsltid=AfmBOorkPIbLtLNiOXnanZMWQk4ig7nQ24uzIP0sCPv1cx3SJAKjQkub

    The article “What Is Neurodiversity?” by Child Mind Institute, explains that some people’s brains just work differently, and that this is a normal part of human diversity. The article says that having autism, ADHD, or a learning disability doesn’t make someone “broken” but rather it just means their brain may work in a way that school systems don’t always understand or support. The article also points out that a lot of the problems that neurodivergent students face sometimes come from the environment and not from the students themselves. The article's main point seems to be that the world and schools especially, are often set up only for “typical” brains.

    I feel like the readings from Lisa Delpit’s we've read could connect well to this idea of the article. Delpit writes about how the school system is often set up for one kind of student which tends to be usually white, middle-class, and already familiar with the “rules” of school. Delpit suggests that students of color, or students who come from different cultures, are often seen as having problems, when really it’s the school that has a problem for not including them. Delpit talks a lot about how teachers should value students’ backgrounds and teach them what they need to succeed, instead of blaming them for being “different.”

    The connection that I feel the two share is that the neurodiversity article and Delpit’s argument say that problems don’t come from the child and they come from the way schools are built. A child might be Black, or autistic, or bilingual, and still be capable and smart. BUT, if the classroom only allows one kind of behavior, one way of thinking, or one form of communication, then the child will look like the problem when in reality its the classroom that needs to change.

    Both Delpit and the neurodiversity article offer us as future educators and teachers to ask ourselves just how we can make this space work for all kinds of learners instead of trying to “fix” the student. Both promote changing the environment so that EVERYONE has a chance to succeed.