[CATO] Fw: STEM ED Readings and Resources This Week - 1-16-2025

Thu Jan 16 13:16:02 PST 2025

Hi Friends- apologies fur cross-posting but wanted to share this weekly resource from UW. It’s called STEMed but covers more than stem accessibility topics. Less policy and more research but I really enjoy the diversity of resources they share each week.

Best,
Amy

Amy Rovner, MPH RD
Director eLearning Services
Accessible IT Coordinator
Shoreline Community College
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Hello colleagues,

A bit of a hodgepodge today; I attended a presentation earlier this week that included discussion on the fact that some people don't care for the term "neurodivergent"; that "divergent" has negative connotations. I had not run across that sentiment before, so did a bit of a search, although not terribly deep. I did not readily find any resources discussing feelings towards the term "divergent"; that doesn't mean that some don't like the label; perhaps I didn't dig deep enough or perhaps there hasn't been much work related to attitudes on the "divergent" part of neurodivergent. The last time I did some looking around on a variation of "neurodiversity", I was looking at "neurospicy" and I certainly found plenty of opinions on that topic. If you are aware of any resources discussing the "divergent" aspect of "neurodivergent" as having negative connotations, please share!

So, all that to say there's not much of a theme today, other than a varied collection of resources related to "neuro-diverse/divergent/diversity.

Our first, highlighted resource is from an old standby and personal favorite, The Neurodiversity Podcast, and pulls together discussion on neurodiversity and Universal Design in Learning. The guest speaker is Allison Posey<https://www.cast.org/about/staff/allison-posey>, a learning design and research specialist with CAST<https://www.cast.org/>. Given our community's focus, that seemed like a good place to start:

Applying Neuroscience to Education
From: The Neurodiversity Podcast (1-9-2025, 41 min.)
Listen on: Neurodiversity Podcast<https://neurodiversitypodcast.com/home/2025/1/9/episode-253-applying-neuroscience-to-education> | Spotify<https://open.spotify.com/episode/4Ypyq3asXzZnqt7IIaUW6U> | Apple Podcasts<https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/applying-neuroscience-to-education/id1338562905?i=1000683365248>
Emily Kircher-Morris welcomes Allison Posey to discuss the importance of inclusive practices in education, focusing on Universal Design for Learning (UDL) and its application in classrooms. Allison shares her personal journey that led her to advocate for inclusive education, she and Emily discuss the need for understanding individual learning differences, and they talk about the role of emotions in learning. They also explore how neuroscience informs educational practices and necessitates shifting mindsets within educational systems to better support all learners. And, what is the impact of educational trauma on students?

Beyond that, there's a webinar on Neurodivergent Muslims (something I don't find a lot on) and several resources today exploring various other topics related to neurodivergence. from exploring the connections between ADHD, Autism and the umbrella term of "neurodivergence" to advice on how to mentor graduate students to an article from our very own Dr. Eric Chudler, talking about key learning takeaways from the work he's done over the last few years with high school campers attending our Neuroscience for Neurodiverse Learners summer camps!
In this post:

  *
Neurodivergent Muslims
  *
ADHD, Autism, and Neurodivergence Are Coming Into Focus
  *
A Neurodiverse Journey to the Brain
  *
The Umbrella Term: Are Neurodivergence and Autism the Same?
  *
Advising Neurodivergent PhD Students
  *
The Human Spectrum: A Critique of “Neurodiversity”

Read on!

Neurodivergent Muslims (webinar)<https://youtu.be/2Pz4QJtIfW8?feature=shared>
From: MCAPN Muslim Counsellor & Psychotherapist Network (YouTube, 1 hr. 25 min.) May 22, 2024
This webinar explores: What neurodiversity is; The intersectionality of being Muslim & neurodivergent; The role of diagnosis & self-identification; Gender differences; Accessibility to assessments & diagnosis; The Muslim experience & lens on neurodiversity.

MCAPN is a UK-based organization so comes from the perspective of the UK Muslim experience. There are some slow parts, and it's not broken down into chapters, but there's some great discussion and insight offered.

ADHD, Autism, and Neurodivergence Are Coming Into Focus<https://www.additudemag.com/understanding-neurodiversity-adhd-and-autism-overlap/#:~:text=Changes%20are%20underway%20in%20how,differences%20in%20thinking%20and%20functioning.>
From: Attitude Magazine (Sept 25, 2024)
Our study and understanding of neurodevelopmental disorders is rapidly changing. We’ve seen an explosion of awareness of ADHD and autism, and greater respect for all the ways in which human brains vary (hence the emergence of the term “neurodivergence”). Undeniably, it is an exciting time to be a part of the field.

At the same time, the medical community has its work cut out for it. We’ve barely begun to scratch the surface on ADHD and autism — conditions with strikingly similar traits and challenges that also happen to co-occur at significant rates.

A Neurodiverse Journey to the Brain<https://on.dystinct.org/a-neurodiverse-journey-to-the-brain-dr-eric-h-chudler/>
From: Dystinct Magazine<https://on.dystinct.org/> <https://on.dystinct.org/> (Jan. 15, 2025)
In this article, our very own Neuroscience for Neurodiverse Learners team member, Dr Eric H. Chudler, highlights experiments and activities from the Neuroscience for Neurodiverse Learners (NNL) program, designed to teach neurodiverse high school students about the brain while sharing these resources to help others replicate the engaging and educational experiences.

The Umbrella Term: Are Neurodivergence and Autism the Same?<https://www.morethanquirky.com.au/the-umbrella-term-are-neurodivergence-and-autism-the-same/>
From: More Than Quirky<https://www.morethanquirky.com.au/> (August 20, 2024)
The term “neurodivergent” covers many, many neurological differences. It is not a synonym for autistic, nor for ADHD. However, it does cover these neurotypes and therefore saying “Joe is neurodivergent” if Joe is autistic is accurate. That doesn’t mean, however, that you are being clear and specifying that Joe is autistic. You could equally be assumed to mean that Joe has depression, or Joe is dyspraxic, etc. “Neurodivergence” or “neurodivergent” have increasingly been used as some sort of supposed euphemism to mean autistic or ADHD. This practice needs to stop for a variety of reasons.

Advising Neurodivergent PhD Students<https://www.washington.edu/accesscomputing/advising-neurodivergent-phd-students>
From: Yasha Iravantchi, AccessComputing Team Member
This document provides a primer for good practices in advising students who are Neurodivergent (ND), a non-exhaustive list of assistive technologies that ND students have found helpful, general areas where faculty can find support for their students, and links to resources. This guide is aimed at faculty who may not be familiar with the concept of neurodiversity and may not realize they have neurodivergent students and advisees.

The Human Spectrum: A Critique of “Neurodiversity”<https://doi.org/10.1002/symb.691>
From: Symbolic Interaction/Wiley Online (April 25, 2024)
This paper represents a sociological approach to autism spectrum disorder that critiques the terms neurodiverse and it obverse, neurotypical, because they promote a cognitive approach that mystifies what is actual and real about human activity in everyday life. It is in dynamic interactional practices rather than putative cognitive states that human diversity is manifest or observable. The empirical part of the paper, following Bleuler, defines and examines “autistic talk” as a turning away from the ordinary social world or commonsense “reality,” and engaging self-oriented practices and orientations. However, the range of participants who produce such talk is not confined to those on the putative autism spectrum. Rather, that range encompasses the entire human span. If so, then a question is raised about what autism is as a “condition,” which term individualizes social difficulties rather than appreciating that they are always about diverse social actions-in-interaction.
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