One of the most prolific children’s authors, Dav Pilkey, was often reprimanded in the classroom and isolated in the hallway, because of what was perceived as disruptive behavior. He showed some of the traits often associated with ADHD—like speaking out of turn—but he also showed ADHD strengths like creativity and thinking outside the box. It was not until adulthood that he went on to publish Captain Underpants, delighting children around the world and making over 10 million dollars.

But what would have Pilkey’s experience been like if he had a teacher who had recognized his talent and celebrated his differences early on? How much suffering could have been avoided and how could his classmates have benefited? If he could go back and talk to his childhood self, he would tell himself to stay true to yourself. How can teachers do that for neurodivergent children today?

With increased awareness of how brain differences affect learning and school avoidance at an all-time high, most teachers want to provide a neurodiversity-affirming classroom where children can be their true selves. But what does that look like?

While the meaning of neurodiversity is generally understood to refer to accepting brain-based differences as a natural and valuable part of human diversity, what does it really mean, on a practical level, to create a neurodiversity-affirming classroom?

Due to large class sizes, unfair wages, pressures to teach to the test and other stressors, it is harder than ever to be a teacher. There is no question that our education system needs to change on a broader level. Discovering what neurodiversity-affirming means for each teacher in their individual circumstances will be a career-long journey, but here are five key strategies that teachers can implement now to use the power they do have to create a neurodiversity-affirming classroom:

Provide Curricula That Celebrates Diversity

The first step is to provide books and curricula that celebrates all types of differences including cultural differences, size differences, age differences, differences in gender identity, and differences in family structure. Communicating right from the beginning that different ways of being are valid and something to be celebrated paves for the way for understanding how different types of brains are also worthy of celebration and attention. Within this larger context of celebrating differences, you can naturally also include books and resources celebrating disability pride and neurodiversity (more here).

Research suggests that children want to see reflections of themselves in the books they read and books featuring diverse characters can help expand their horizons. We Move Together is a great book celebrating multiple types of differences at once. The We Move Together website also includes Education Resources to foster discussion at school.

Once you have set the tone and immersed students in an environment where difference is celebrated, you can teach explicitly about neurodiversity. You can get some ideas from the Learning About Neurodiversity at School (LEANS) curriculum, which is freely available to download online.

Embrace Differences/Maximize Strengths

The next step is to be a role model by embracing differences within your students, themselves. One way to do this is to incorporate your students’ focused interests into their learning. For example, if you have a student who won’t stop talking about dinosaurs, make some of the math word problems about T-rexes and stegosauruses. If you have a student who loves dance, let her pick a dance book to read during silent reading. If your student is particularly outgoing, maybe they can do a show and tell to share about their special interest and related collections with the class. There’s something about infodumping that really brings learning to life for some students.

Another concept to consider is Universal Design for Learning (UDL), which discusses creative ways of using teaching and evaluation strategies that naturally match up with a child’s particular strengths. For example, when children need to present what they have learned from a book, instead of having all of them do a book report, give them an option of showcasing their learning with a video for kids who love technology or with a life-size model for more hands-on learners. Some neurodivergent students have trouble doing homework, but working on an interesting project, especially one involving choice, is more motivating.

Also, consider teaching using different modalities. Instead of only lecturing, present diagrams or use hands-on demonstrations. Some students respond especially well to learning games, including educational videogames. By offering more than one modality for learning, you are giving a chance for students to showcase the ways they learn best.

Accommodate Sensory Needs

Neurodiversity also includes acknowledging that different people have different ways of processing the world around them. The room that seems way too loud for one child might be perfectly fine for another, and neither of them is right or wrong.

Setting up the classroom to consider your students’ differing sensory needs is one way to affirm neurodiversity in a practical way. Offering a quiet space and noise-cancelling headphones can be great for students with sensitive hearing. Reducing visual clutter can help children stay organized. Providing natural sunlight for those who need it is also important. For students with a strong need for movement, consider offering them positive ways to move. For example, maybe they get to be the ones to run an errand for you or move around the classroom to hand out papers. You can try taking brain breaks using videos like this one.

Collaborate with Students on Discipline

Neurodivergent students tend to thrive on a predictable environment so having structure and clear expectations is important, but it’s not always easy to figure out how to discipline students in a balanced way. One effective strategy is to have your students help you come up with classroom rules. They are much more likely to follow rules that they have made themselves. You can also get their input on what they think should happen if someone breaks a rule and how they will help keep each other stay accountable.

When individual students seem to have problems meeting adult expectations, instead of assuming that they are being defiant on purpose, consider taking a collaborative approach to working with the student to come to a resolution. Ross Greene offers a range of resources for providers on how to do this with students by hearing their concerns, sharing your concerns, finding out what is getting in the way, and coming up with solutions together. This may take a little longer in the short term, but can be an effective way to establish effective partnerships with children and validate their different brain styles.

Avoid strategies that use public shaming as a way to influence children to follow your instructions. Instead, promote a culture of psychological safety. Also, avoid strategies that seem to work in the short-term, but have negative consequences later. Withdrawing recess, for example, should not be used as punishment. It’s ineffective and in some states, it’s illegal.

One of the most effective discipline strategies is to establish positive relationships with each individual student using strategies like establishing special greetings, checking in regularly, and reminding students that they are a valuable part of a community, among other ideas.

Enhance Executive Functioning Skills

Many neurodivergent students, especially Autistic students and ADHDers, struggle with executive functioning skills (skills that help us plan, organize, and accomplish tasks). An important principle to understand is that students who seem chronically disorganized, often lose things, and forget to turn in assignments are probably not doing it on purpose.

Punishing neurodivergent students for being disorganized is like punishing a student with dyslexia for not reading well enough. Some students need more support than others. Providing executive functioning support is one way of acknowledging that not all brains are the same and that’s okay. You can find numerous executive functioning supports at Understood.org. For example, these graphic organizers are especially helpful for students who struggle with note-taking.

Providing planners alone is generally not enough. Showing students how to use them and regularly checking them to keep students on track is more effective. Directly teaching students how to organize their desks and providing baskets or other tools to sort their papers can be helpful, especially if you use a positive tone while instructing them. Consider using technology to support organization. Some students might benefit from mindmapping software to help them visualize how concepts are connected. Offering frequent reminders both verbally and visually (e.g., using checklists) can help students stay on track.

Neurodivergent students may also need more support from their parents for longer than their peers. Keeping parents in the loop by listing assignments in an online database, along with their due dates, can make a big difference in helping students thrive. Overall, providing executive functioning support is one way of saying “It’s okay if you need help. I will teach you.”

Teachers generally spend 1000 hours per year with their students and have a profound influence on what they learn and how they see themselves and each other. Promoting a neurodiversity-affirming classroom amidst the struggles of today’s educational system is not easy, but taking some of these practical steps can make a big difference for students like Dav Pilkey and their peers.

Dr. Woods would like to thank all of the many great teachers who taught her and her children, especially her mother, Linda O’Neil, who specialized in working with neurodivergent children for several decades.

Disclaimer: Dr. Woods and the UWAC may not agree with all content at all links.

"I came for the language, but I stayed for the community." ... I wish I could say.
PyCon DE & PyData 2025

I wish I could have attended PyCon DE & PyData 2025, but was unable to due to unfortunate factors. Let me explain.

My name is Jessica, and I'm a maintainer of python libraries used by millions. I've used python for over 10 years, and have recently started joining the community where ever I'm able to.
I'm also fully blind.

Back In January/February I applied for financial aid to attend, and at the end of February my application was gracefully accepted.
Come the very start of March, when my acceptance had been confirmed, I wrote to the main PyCon DE & PyData help desk, explaining my situation, that I'm fully blind, and asking if any accommodations were possible and could be made.

A few days later I got a reply, that my request had been forwarded to the correct team, and that THEY would get back to me.

Waiting, is not fun, especially when you also have to book flights and accommodations for being there, especially if you don't know if it's all going to be for nothing.
A "Sorry, we are unable to provide accommodations" is totally okay, but that was not the answer I got.

I heard nothing.

Having heard nothing at end of March, I reached out again, to the help desk, asking for a followup at the start of April.
A whole week later, a little over a week away from the conference at this point, I get a response from the main desk again, letting me know that they've followed up directly with the on-site team, and someone will be in contact with me shortly to coordinate the best possible support for me.

Yet again - silence.
No email, no call, no dm... Nothing.

So I ended up not being able to attend. Not being able to join the community that I have come to love and cherish so much. And it's especially hard, because it's the closest PyCon to where I leave.

And let me be clear. I would totally have accepted a no, a sorry we can't do that. But hearing nothing at all, even after multiple followups, is not acceptable, regardless of if they were able to provide accommodations or not.

Personal opinion?
I feel like the community, in some way, has failed. For all the talk about accessibility, inclusion and diversity, it only feels like that mattered in this case if you were able to make things accessible yourself, if you were able to include yourself.

"I came for the language, but couldn't join the community"

Feel free to like, comment or repost

A few years ago I caved and bought a cheap Robo vacuum.

I had resisted for years - scolding myself with gaslighting comments like “your condo is so small - you SHOULD be able to vacuum yourself”

I was so mean to myself that I refused an accommodation tool that would help me

This is a common experience for disabled people. We often struggle to ask for the help we need. We feel bad about requiring assistive devices or items that will make life easier.

We see them as a “frill” because other people have taught us we don’t “deserve” them

I bought the cheapest one I could find and it still sat in a box in my apartment for months before I finally set it up.

It sat in the corner taunting me. Reminding me that I shouldn’t have wasted money, that I’m pathetic for not being able to clean my own floor

This tiny little tool that most people buy without a second thought caused me so much mental anguish.

Why? Internalized ableism.

It was the same thing with a shower chair. I resisted for years because I felt it meant I was “lazy” or “giving up”

Imagine a non disabled person thinking that way? They wouldn’t.

When you’re non disabled you’re taught that you DO deserve all the nice things.

You need help with something? Cool! You earned it!

You want a Robo vacuum to save you time? Go get it you worked hard for it!

It’s capitalism and ableism all rolled into one.

This idea that if you’re economically active and healthy, you are entitled to all the great things.

If you’re not? Sit down and accept whatever scraps the world throws at you and be grateful for them

It’s harmful and it results in people pushing themselves to the point of harm

I passed out in the shower and dislocated my shoulder before finally getting a chair

I face planted while vacuuming and ended up black and blue.

For what? To appease some outdated notion of worth?

I firmly reject our societal conception of worth.

We all have worth. A person shouldn’t have to work or have good health to be considered deserving of help, accommodation or love.

So I set up my Robo vacuum… and something incredible happened

I fell in love with it. He became my best friend. This tiny little device brought me more joy than I ever thought possible.

With the touch of a button my entire floor was cleaned and I didn’t have to exert or risk my health

My mast cells improved because I was able to stay on top of dirt and dust better.

My POTS body appreciated not spending days in a horrible flare after an attempt at vacuuming that didn’t do half as good a job as my Robo pal.

He broke the other day - and I’m not embarassed to admit that I cried.

He served me faithfully for years … and had clearly been tired these last few months.

But when he made his final sad little “meep meep” noise… I shed a tear

I cried for the loss of my little buddy, but also for everything he gave to me.

He represented the beginning of my journey to lean into my disabilities. Start accepting and accommodating my body instead of fighting it.

It was a huge gift. It relieved me of an enormous load I didn’t even know I had been carrying.

Now I have various bathroom safety tools, I’ve baby proofed parts of my home, I have a carer help me with showers and other difficult activities of daily living.

I know now that I’m worth it - and in a weird way my Robo helped teach me that.

We are all worth it - and we need to do whatever we can to remind ourselves (and each other) of that fact every single day /14
The world can be a hateful place with many people looking to tear us down.

Never forget your worth isn’t about what’s in your bank account, how healthy you are or what your job is.

It’s about YOU. Who you are and what you bring to the world

You are loved. Just as you are.

This is a story of a #monopoly. It is also a story of #government #licensing, and #accessibility. There’s a bit of #MLM, but not the usual kind.

I am seeking employment as an #administrative #professional (#administrativeAssistant, #executiveAssistant, basically, #administrativeSupport). I was on a #contract with a #BigTech company, and the program I was supporting is sundowning, so about two-thirds of us were let go at the end of the fiscal year.

I’ve been applying to many places, some of which turned out to be #scams (any company with the word “travel”, “adventure”, or “vacation” in their name, and who claims to be looking for administrative anything is a scam. Ten times out of ten).

I also managed to apply to an insurance … organization. They are agents selling policies from a specific #BigInsurance, only through “agencies” (and sub-agencies - they unfortunately invited prospects (including me) to join their "huddles" on Zoom and I'm observant) and they are looking for prospects in specific regions of the #USA and #Canada.

This costs money, as this is a profession where you need a #license. The investment was reasonable, $49 for #training, another $49 for the #test, and another $50 for the license application, plus $45ish for #fingerprinting. Even if I choose not to work for the people who recruited me, credentials tend to be useful in some way.

I paid for the training on 04 Nov, paid for the test on 12 Nov (scheduled for 26 Nov), did the fingerprinting on 16 Nov. Also on 12 Nov, I tried to initiate the #accommodations process with the testing company, (the above-mentioned monopoly) Pearson VUE.

To apply for accommodations, the test-taker is asked to create an additional account on the accommodations portal. The final step of this process is to follow the steps in a “verification email” that may take up to fifteen minutes to be sent.

I /never/ received this email. Thus, I was never able to verify my account, or move forward in the process. After several telephone calls, I was provided an email address for the accessibility team.

On 21 Nov, I emailed the Pearson Accessibility team with a detailed, step-by-step, description of what I was doing, what I was seeing, and the fact that their system never provided me that verification email. Of course, since I’d already created the account, I was attempting to use the “Resend verification email” link (it runs a script). I included ten marked-up screenshots, and asked for a Read #Receipt.

I actually got a reply. However, the reply was “you actually sent this to the wrong place.” It also stated that Pearson VUE did /not/ manage accommodations requests, that was done by the entity who owned the test.

I replied to that email, copy-pasted the email with the steps, attached the screenshots, and asked for another Read Receipt. In that email, I said, “This should be a simple process. I have invested hours of my time in documenting the behavior I am seeing because no one at Pearson VUE accepts my word that I'm following the procedure and it is not working. This will also cost me money to extend my access to training materials until I'm able to test.”

This got a reply where I was informed my account had been locked due to “too many attempts.” On 22 November, I was able to actually log into the portal and get the information I needed to request the appropriate document from my #VocRehab counselor. I sent an email to both my counselor and her assistant, including the #IDC codes corresponding to my current situation (I’ve been an administrative pro long enough to know that the easier the request, the quicker it’s completed).

I received a request on 02 December to complete a DocuSign granting permission for my counselor to share the info with Pearson. Pearson’s website says the process can take “up to ten days,” so I scheduled my test for Friday, 20 Dec, figuring that would work.

On 13 Dec, Pearson notified my counselor that my request had been accepted, and the email included specific instructions for scheduling. The only option is to call a specific phone number. And they aren’t open on the weekend.

On Monday, 16 Dec, when I called, I was on hold “for the next available…” for 40 minutes. When I was finally able to speak to someone, they asked me to verify absolutely every bit of personal data they have on me. Then, I was told I would have to schedule the test at a Pearson Testing Center (there are several local ones). The first center, the one closest to me, did not have any openings until February. The next-closest had an availability for noon on January 17. I was put on hold while the agent tried to request that time. The call dropped.

Another 45 minutes waiting for an agent, and, again, I had to verify all the data. This time, after three “brief” holds of 5+ minutes, I was told the request was pending, and that I would receive a call.

I did receive a call on Thursday, 19 Dec, but my caller ID said it was from “State of California.” Which is /not/ Pearson, so I sent it to voicemail. The voicemail said I had to confirm that I wanted that time “within two business days” and I called back. After another long wait time, the agent said they needed to reach out to “that department” and after even more hold times, I was told that “Marcus” would call me back /that day/.

Of course he did not. I called back Friday morning, and, again, long hold times, and give the agent all the information. And “Marcus” wasn’t going to be in for twenty minutes (it was 9:40 CST, so, aha! he’s on PST). I called back at about 3:00 pm PST (5:00 pm my time). I used to support folks in all five time zones in the contiguous 48, so this is second nature). After another 45 minutes and stuff, the agent said that time was no longer available.

I followed all their steps and procedures. Apparently, the accommodations department at Pearson VUE is dependent on one person, Marcus. I should have been able to take this test by now. Nowhere on the website does it say that test takers requesting accommodations should NOT schedule online. I even deliberately scheduled to test at a local college because I /know/ they have the capability to provide the accommodations I need.

The really stupid part of this is all that time on hold and all that time documenting the misbehavior of their system.

I was promised a call on Monday, 23 Dec. Of course, I'm calling them.