Sarah E. Silverman

Note: This post is based on a LinkedIn post from Tuesday December 17th, 2024. I decided to give that content a more permanent and access home on my website. I do have some hope to expand these ideas into a full article, but I am not certain when.

I have done a few talks as part of my work to better establish the relationship between Universal Design for Learning (UDL) and neurodiversity, and wanted to share some of my thoughts on this. Particularly, I am interested in how neurodiversity theory and the neurodiversity movement connect to and can help inform UDL. I believe this is necessary work because UDL is so frequently assumed to be a pedagogical response to neurodiversity, yet neurodiversity is not mentioned in any of the classic UDL texts, and CAST (the organization that puts out the UDL guidelines) rarely engages with neurodiversity. My perspective is not that UDL is a panacea (far from it) for responding to neurodiversity in instructional design, more that I think there is a good argument for conceptual connections between the two frameworks. The relationship between neurodiversity and UDL is a “friendship worth fostering” as one of my recent talks was titled.

There is one image of a powerpoint slide that has a summary of some of these ideas, with the text below.

1. The neurodiversity movement and neurodiversity advocacy prioritizes self-advocacy and leadership of neurodivergent people. The new UDL guidelines center “learner agency”, support choice and autonomy. Previous UDL guidelines emphasized “expert learners.”
2. The neurodiversity movement recognizes and honors differences in communication and behavior. UDL provides options for interacting with material and peers, recognizes multiple modes of expression and communication and encourages instructors to assess students on learning outcomes regardless of mode of expression.
3. The neurodiversity movement emphasizes the personhood of neurodivergent people beyond just labels and diagnoses in recognition of their identities and experiences. UDL recognizes that the development and support of self-regulation, emotional capacity, and executive functioning are important building blocks in the learning process. This is an inclusive perspective that validates and recognizes challenges, strengths, and growth.

Cover image by Austin Kehmeier on Unsplash