Abstract:

Chris is neurodivergent and has been diagnosed with hyperlexia and synesthesia. Being neurodivergent means people who have certain brain differences are affected by this and how their brain works to process information received from the external world, as well as their own thought processes. This condition, also described as neurodiversity indicates the diversity in the cognitive ability and manifests as lack of sociability, disability to have control over attention and mood, affects the way the individual learns, and could possibly influence other mental abilities. Chris’ hyperlexic condition has led to an intense fixation on visual representations of things, such as symbols, maps, patterns, letters, and numbers. Chris’ synesthesia affects him when one of his senses, on occasion, tends to get perceived by his other senses, where he could try to remember names of people by association with colours or tastes. Chris decided to take charge of his learning, with help and guidance from experts, by focusing on listening carefully whenever instructors were describing concepts in his class. He would successfully absorb about 50-60% during these classes. He would take notes, then see his instructor and pose questions. His good fortune was his instructors were consistent and competent and had the time for Chris’ questions. As they responded to Chris’ questions, he listened carefully, took more notes, found time to quieten his racing mind, which was an effect of his neurodivergent conditions, and was able to reflect, contemplate, and slowly understand what had been imparted to him. He was then able to establish that knowledge firmly in his mind and confidently move to the next class, next topic, and next challenge. How did this happen? How was Chris able to overcome his obstacles? What did the teacher do to support his learning?

Upon review of the extant scholarly literature on neurodiversity and learning challenges for neurodivergent learners in higher education, Clouder et al (2020), concluded that while there are studies that recognized the many different disorders associated under the umbrella term of neurodiversity, the focus of most of these articles was only on a few of the disorders like dyslexia, ADHD, autism spectrum disorder and students with these disorders experiencing learning difficulties. They indicate that labeling and stigmatization often prevents students from accessing the kinds of supports they need to succeed in higher education. To address this gap in understanding and acceptance, the Universal Design for Learning (UDL) approach is viewed as an effective way to ensure that all types of learners can benefit. In the paper, we will unravel these concepts in more detail, explain how specifically the UDL principles can allow for multi-modal teaching and learning and how can content be delivered in a manner that allows the learners to pose the questions, get the answers they need to be able to contemplate on the subject matter, and firmly establish this knowledge in their minds. One such UDL approach is elaborated and applied in detail in this paper. Distilled from the Vedas and the Upanishads, through a lineage of teachers, Swami Paramarthananda (2023), explains that all learners have obstacles like laziness, being overwhelmed, and having a riotous, distracted mind. A teacher must, therefore, understand these obstacles faced by a learner like Chris, and help them overcome these obstacles in their pursuit of knowledge.

Keywords:

Neurodivergent, neurodiversity, universal design for learning (UDL), different learner types.