By: Alexandria Skwarlo, Design Animator
December 4, 2024
Higher Education: 1/3
Neurodiversity and Accessibility
- Neurodiversity and accessibility are closely intertwined concepts that focus on recognizing and accommodating the diverse ways in which people think and process information.
Embracing How Different Our Brains Are with Elena Sabinson
The workplace can do a much better job than it does today supporting diverse needs. Elena Sabinson is a neurodivergent researcher diagnosed later in life with autism and ADHD. Elena’s personal experience and research on neurodiversity along with expertise in architecture and design gives us ideas for how the workplace can do more to support all of our different brains.
- Listen to the podcast here: https://www.steelcase.com/research/podcasts/topics/wellbeing/embracing-how-different-our-brains-are-with-elena-sabinson-s4e6/
Education and Awareness
- Creating a neuro-inclusive environment starts with education and awareness. It’s essential to provide training for staff, faculty, and students on neurodiversity, including conditions like autism, ADHD, and dyslexia.
Accessible Environment
- Creating accessible physical and digital environments is essential for accommodating neurodivergent students. This includes ensuring wheelchair access, providing sensory-friendly spaces, and designing navigable digital materials for all, including users of assistive technologies. These accommodations enable neurodivergent students to fully participate in campus life.
Support Services
- Specialized support services are vital for neurodivergent students, including academic coaching, counseling, and peer mentoring.
Flexible Learning
- Offering alternatives like video lectures, interactive modules, project-based assessments, and extended exam times allows students to choose formats that align with their strengths. Faculty can also adopt universal design principles to enhance accessibility for all students.
Collaboration and Advocacy
- Building a neuro-inclusive higher education organization requires collaboration among students, faculty, staff, and community organizations to advocate for neurodivergent individuals’ rights and needs. Working together allows for identifying improvements, sharing best practices, and implementing meaningful changes.
Read more here: https://neurodiversityacademy.com/articles/article?articleId=2
Online by Design: How Accessibility is Fundamental to Learner-Centered Design
In the United States today, more than 21 percent of undergraduate college students identify as having a disability (National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), 2023).¹ As nearly a quarter of the student population identifies as disabled, it is imperative that higher education become more accessible and inclusive of all learners.
Higher education must be accessible to learners with disabilities across all institutions and modalities, including online formats. While comprehensive accommodations don’t guarantee success, they help level the playing field for all students.
As demand for flexible education grows, institutions should assess accessibility in both academic and non-academic areas. However, significant gaps in research and many institutions’ failure to meet legal standards highlight systemic exclusion.
Read more here: https://www.chepp.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/CHEPP_ACCESSIBILITY_WHITE-PAPER_v5.pdf