Parents Can Play a Critical Role for Neurodivergent Students Transitioning to College
By: Scott Bellman & Eric H. Chudler
The last decade has seen an increasing shift away from deficit-based models of supporting students with disabilities. Such models focus on the weaknesses of individual students in an effort to correct the perceived weaknesses, with little attention paid to teach students how to identify and capitalize on their unique strengths. Recently, many educators have adopted more balanced approaches, including strength-based models that incorporate a student-centered approach to teaching that helps these students understand their strengths (Parsakia et al., 2022). Strength-based models highlight the importance of teaching students how to improve strong areas and capitalize on them in learning environments.
In this article we share observations, particularly observations of parents about the strengths of their children, from a project at the University of Washington (UW) that aims to help neurodiverse learners prepare for and succeed in college. The project, Neuroscience for Neurodiverse Learners (NNL), provides hands-on experiences in neuroscience, networking opportunities, and resources to high school and early post-secondary students who identify as “neurodiverse” learners: those with academic challenges related to conditions such as dyspraxia, dyslexia, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, dyscalculia, autism spectrum disorder, and Tourette syndrome. The program, a collaboration between the UW’s Disabilities, Opportunities, Internetworking, and Technology (DO-IT) Center and the Center for Neurotechnology (CNT), disseminates findings to teachers of courses that are related to neuroscience and, more broadly, science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) courses. The goal of NNL is to enhance student interest in STEM and provide students with the skills to pursue STEM fields successfully, as well as empower educators to serve these students more effectively.
Each summer, Neuroscience for Neurodiverse Learners students participate in a 10-day summer camp experience which includes several days on the University of Washington campus at the Center for Neurotechnology. The CNT’s mission is to “develop innovative neural devices and methods for directing engineered neuroplasticity in the brain and spinal cord, which will improve sensory and motor function for people with spinal cord injury, stroke and other neurological disorders.” Engineered neuroplasticity is a new form of rehabilitation that uses engineered devices to restore lost or injured connections in the brain, spinal cord, and other areas of the nervous system.
These neurodiverse students learn about college preparation, leadership, advocacy, and the various STEM disciplines that contribute to the field of neuroscience. They explore how the human brain functions, and the ethical issues that relate to rapidly emerging technology that can impact individuals with disabilities. Students work on social skills and learn scientific communication skills. The summer experience is supplemented with on-campus and online activities delivered during the school year.
When engaging students during program activities, project staff noted that all students in the program were able to identify at least one of their strengths. Students often identified strengths they believed were related to their neurodivergent characteristics. In other words, while their disability may present certain challenges in learning environments, students often believed that certain strengths were the result of their lived experience related to their neurodivergent characteristics.
The summer program includes a “Parents Night” where program staff and mentors meet with parents of students attending camp. During the session, resources are shared, questions are answered, and parents have a chance to build their network of support. During the session, parents share thoughts about the strengths of their student. Staff observed that parents of neurodivergent students in the program often identified a higher number of strengths than the students themselves, could more readily articulate the strengths through examples, and could describe them in more detail. Over three summers, 29 parents of 26 students articulated various strengths they believed were evident in their children.
The most common reported strength mentioned by parents was the ability of their child to embrace online learning in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic, especially compared to their neurotypical peers. Parents shared that online environments offer fewer distractions as compared to on-site classrooms, and that their child had more control over their experience. For example, they could turn off their camera if they needed space as part of a disability-related accommodation. Parents shared that their child could participate in different modalities when they were online (e.g., speaking, using the chat function, or using “reactions” such as raising a virtual hand or voting with a virtual check mark). They noted that students could control their immediate environment, such as the items on their desk and walls, and that for some students, this predictable and consistent environment significantly reduced anxiety and reduced the need for masking (the practice of concealing or suppressing aspects of one’s neurodivergent traits or conditions), leaving more cognitive space for learning.
Parents noted that their students were skilled at asking thoughtful questions and embracing scientific curiosity. These qualities were also observed by instructors during Neuroscience for Neurodiverse Learners activities at summer camp and during the school year.
Another common strength noted by parents was their children’s ability to engage in creative thinking and creative problem solving. One parent stated that their child is exceptionally skilled at “connecting the dots… pulling together seemingly disparate parts and finding connections not seen by others.” Project staff noted a consistent theme of students having a unique perspective that lends itself to solving problems in unexpected ways, which is in line with employment trends in the technology sector, where some of the biggest names in technology are seeking to hire workers who identify as neurodivergent. There is an increasing belief in many science and engineering sectors that neurodivergent employees bring unique talent to teams.
Other themes included persistence and dedication to finishing projects, activities, or courses; strong skills for demonstrating empathy and kindness; skills related to memory and spatial memory; abilities related to music and the arts; honest and direct communication, commonly associated with students on the autism spectrum; a natural curiosity and the desire to ask questions; and strength in mathematics.
Project staff engaged with students and parents about college preparation, noting that the K-12 system is a great place for parents to provide input on students’ Individual Education Plans, commonly known as “IEPs” (Elder et al., 2018). Ideally, IEPs are student driven. However, a case can be made for parental involvement, helping ensure that student strengths are incorporated into their child’s K-12 learning plan. Practicing the concepts related to understanding and utilizing one’s strengths can be critical for students preparing for college, where they will need to more independently draw upon their unique strengths and talents.
When students’ specific strengths are written into an IEP or communicated to their instructors, teachers have the opportunity to adjust their approach. Imagine that a teacher knows a student has a particular strength for asking thoughtful questions and embracing scientific curiosity. Instead of asking the student for an answer to a particular scientific question, the teacher could instead explore the student’s understanding of the material by encouraging the student to generate questions a researcher might ask about the content. Similarly, a teacher who knows that a student has strengths related to empathy and kindness might choose to call on the student at a time when those skills could be helpful. For example, to help explore a misunderstanding during a small group assignment.
We plan to further explore the idea of utilizing parent knowledge to help neurodiverse K-12 learners prepare for college. We believe there is merit in exploring which strengths are more commonly associated with different diagnostic criteria, the possible reasons for differences in parent-reported strengths versus student self-reports, and additional ways that parents can leverage their knowledge to help students and educators better understand and build upon students’ unique areas of strength.
This work was funded by the National Science Foundation (Award#DRL-1948591). Dr. Rajesh Rao (UW) serves as Co-Principal Investigator on the project.
The Eddie Bernice Johnson NSF INCLUDES Alliance TAPDINTO-STEM (NSF# 2119902) contributed resources toward the development of this article.
References
Elder, B. C., Rood, C. E., & Damiani, M. L. (2018). Writing strength-based IEPs for students with disabilities in inclusive classrooms. International Journal of Whole Schooling, 14(1), 116–155. http://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1182587.pdf
Parsakia, K., Darbani, S. A., Rostami, M., & Saadati, N. (2022). The effectiveness of strength-based training on students’ academic performance. Journal of Adolescent and Youth Psychological Studies, 3(3), 194–201. https://doi.org/10.61838/kman.jayps.3.3.16
Scott Bellman (M.A.) directs activities of the University of Washington’s Disabilities, Opportunities, Internetworking, and Technology (DO-IT) Center, and serves as Principal Investigator of Neuroscience for Neurodiverse Learners. Scott serves as the UW PI and West Coast Hub Leader within the NSF INCLUDES TAPDINTO-STEM Alliance.
Eric H. Chudler (Ph.D.) is a Research Associate Professor in the Department of Bioengineering and Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine at the University of Washington, and the Executive Director / Education Director at the Center for Neurotechnology. He serves as Education Director of NNL and Lead Faculty Mentor for the UW Campus NSF INCLUDES TAPDINTO-STEM Alliance.