Hi there! I’m Said Shaiye, a disabled writer. I also teach writing with a disability/Neurodivergent affirming focus. Below are some of the basic frameworks I use when designing my classes. There is also a scientific study on the gap between educators perceived knowledge (in relation to disability) and their reported teaching behavior. Surprise: it’s a huge gap.
It wasn’t easy getting to this point. Along my educational journey, I faced countless challenges I attributed to “not being good enough.” So, I tried harder. I only failed harder. Years after dropping out of college and struggling to find a way, I discovered I had undiagnosed disabilities. Disability Accommodations have come a long way in the last decade, but they are still very much imperfect. Even with formal diagnoses, I still found it challenging at best to finish my studies. That’s because neurodivergent people learn differently.
The way our education systems are set up is rigid and uncompassionate. I was fortunate to have caring teachers along the way who extended me grace even when I couldn’t explain why I was struggling (again, undiagnosed disabilities are not easy). By the time I made it to grad school, I was expected to teach classes in a way that didn’t make sense for me (as a student or an educator).
I had to think long and hard about how to find a different approach — first, selfishly, to make my life less hellish, and second (more importantly): to protect students like myself who had undiagnosed disabilities or neurodivergence or anything really. This led me down a rabbit hole of alternative teaching methods. I have continued to develop and tweak those methods over the last few years.
I will continue to add onto this list as I have time. If you have any suggestions, please send me a message using this website’s contact form! Thanks gang 🙂
What is Universal Design for Learning (UDL)?
https://www.understood.org/en/articles/universal-design-for-learning-what-it-is-and-how-it-works
- A great resource for entry level knowledge on UDL.
- Universal Design for Learning (UDL) gives all students an equal opportunity to succeed.
- This approach to teaching and learning offers flexibility in the ways students access material and show what they know.
- UDL also looks for different ways to keep students motivated.
- Offers examples of building a UDL curriculum as well as links to further reading.
Trauma-Informed Pedagogy
https://barnard.edu/trauma-informed-pedagogy
Excellent introductory resource on the concept of trauma informed pedagogy (TIP). Provides core principles of TIP, techniques & responses, classroom support tools & further reading.
Trauma-Informed Practices for Postsecondary Education: A Guide
https://educationnorthwest.org/resources/trauma-informed-practices-postsecondary-education-guide
Comprehensive guide that looks at the various types of trauma students may bring with them to the classroom. Provides data, statistics, unexpected ways trauma can manifest in students’ participation (or lack thereof) & offers suggestions on how to help those students succeed. Encourages educators to build a trauma-informed pedagogy & learning environment for their students.
Compassionate pedagogy for neurodiversity in higher education: A conceptual analysis
https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1093290/full
Contextualizes the challenges faced by neurodivergent students in traditional learning environments (including the challenges of going through the diagnosis/accommodation process). Offers various ways of analyzing the problem & proposes a compassion based approach to helping those students succeed. Also touches on Universal Design for Learning (UDL).
Current support tends to operate on a ‘disability services’ model: assess and diagnose the student; individualise a learning support plan; add in adjustments to core teaching. This model is, perhaps unintentionally, underpinned by deficit thinking. Funding-specific support relies on diagnostic labels, necessitates onerous and lengthy processes, and places an onus on the student to advocate for accommodations. While seeking support for learning, a process which can take several months, a neurodivergent student is likely to experience a poor person-context fit at university, and may escalate from one source of support to the next while appropriate interventions are not available (Lightner et al., 2012). It is important to note that, within these structural constraints, individualised support via disability services can be compassionate and neurodiversity-affirmative.
Autism in Higher Education: dissonance between educators’ perceived knowledge and reported teaching behaviour
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/13603116.2021.1988159
This study explores the autism knowledge and awareness of educators in Higher Education (HE) as well as their attitudes towards accommodating autistic students within their teaching. Thematic analysis uncovered a striking dissonance between educators’ positive attitudes towards accommodating autistic students and their actions in the classroom. Even though participants self-described as having expert knowledge of autism, an attitude-behavior gap was evident. Impact on inclusivity for autistic students is discussed, alongside recommended directions for future study and practice.