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Providing Space and Service to Neurodivergent Students

Dr. Dani Wilson (She/Her); Trans, Autistic, White

Open Education Librarian, Moreno Valley College

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We're Among You

Quick Anonymous Poll:

URL: https://www.menti.com/alywocyi3zdo
Menti.com code 19 16 18
QR Code

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Stereotypically Neurodivergent!

Always gotta have 2+ drinks on you (bonus points if one is hot and one is cold).
Certain foods are supposed to have certain textures! Or temperatures! Or be eaten first!
Ugh, I can't stand itchy fabric.
Yeah, I'm gonna need an agenda for that meeting...
TRAINS ARE FASCINATING!

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Neurodivergence

Not

Joke

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Features or Failures?

Raise your hand if your library...

Has extensive florescent lighting
Is often crowded with students
Has no way to let students know how occupied it is
Is often loud
Has uncomfortable furniture
Has enclosed rooms that feel like a prison

We live in a world not built for the neurodivergent!

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Common Accommodations

Raise your hand if your library...

Has study rooms with adjustable light levels
Has noise-cancelling headphones for students
Has a reasonable mixture of firm and soft seating
Has quiet study areas (that are actually quiet)
Has fidget-toys for check out

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On Neurodivergence

Not enough time to really explain neurodivergence, but we need some common understanding.

What is neurodiversity?

Avoid the pathology paradigm. Neurodivergence is not a disability.

Neurodivergent people often have disabilities.

Neurodivergences are different ways of thinking and communicating.
There are many types of neurodivergence: ADHD, Autism, Dyslexia, Epilepsy, Tourette's, etc.

Among the same types, there is a lot of variety in neurodivergent traits.

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How do we fail our neurospicy students?

Putting all the work on the student

Overstimulation

A state of being overwhelmed by stimulation (sights, smells, sounds, emotions, thoughts, social encounters, mandatory hugs...)
Can create an impulse to escape or to lash out

Microaggressions

You can't be neurodiverse you're...
But you seem normal-
Why's it so dark – you a vampire?
Stop fidgeting with that!

Cat behind a rock, CC BY, by रोहित साव

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Why does research on neurodivergence often focus on "correcting" neurodivergent behaviors?

Titles on Autism in my library's collection:

Transition or Transformation? Helping Young People with Autistic Spectrum Disorder Set Out on a Hopeful Road Towards Their Adult Lives - 2010
Group interventions for Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders: a Focus on Social Competency and Social Skills - 2009
Pivotal Response Treatments for Autism: Communication, Social & Academic Development – 2006
How to End the Autism Epidemic - 2018

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You know what suck? "Superpowers"

Experiences People Have Shared

I can hear a constant buzzing sound from florescent lights and refrigerators. It's loud.
If people are talking around me, I hear everything they say and can't hear the person in front of me.
I can taste artificial sweetener in any amount. It tastes wrong.
I can smell the food they heated up through two walls, it smells gross.

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Coping Strategies: Avoiding Meltdowns and Shutdowns

Pre-emptive

Planned responses/scripts
Shadowing someone for social events
Having access to pre-event maps, schedules, etc.
Avoiding crowded locations

Responsive

Stimming (Soothing, repetitive movements)

Fidget toys, leg bouncing, finger drumming, etc.

Sound-cancelling headphones (on-ear and off-ear) and earbuds
Listening to music

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Invisible Failures

Reasons you might not see neurodivergent student challenges:

I'm avoiding you / the library / the conversation
I can't summon the executive functioning to see you
Expressing my needs is too taxing
Society has conditioned me to "deal with it"
I'm often really good at masking

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Failures in the System

It's extremely difficult to get an adult diagnosis

"Adults can't have ADHD"

It's extremely expensive to get an adult diagnosis

Specialist estimate: $1,800 and up; file for insurance reimbursement

Visiting multiple school officers to get accommodations
Studies show that up to 1.9% of postsecondary students are autistic, and up to 5% are ADHD; but these numbers do not include those that are undiagnosed (Dwyer, Patrick; et al.)
Evidence suggests that neurodivergent students are more likely to drop out of higher education, due largely to environmental factors (McDowall, Almuth, and Kiseleva)
Much of the existing research on neurodiversity reinforces deficit-based views (Hinson-Williams)

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Recommendations

Train staff to meet neurodivergent students where they are. Communication is a two-way street.

Respect individual differences.
Offer multiple communication channels (email, instant message, text, etc.).
Avoid ambiguity. Avoid unnecessary acronyms, jargon, and idioms. Provide consistent structure.
Make an inclusive, welcoming space. Provide maps, occupancy counters, allow preparation time for meetings, use visual aids.

Provide noise-cancelling headphones, quiet areas, fidget toys, etc.
Provide flexible, adaptable spaces

Adjustable desks
Comfortable and rigid seating options
Adjustable lighting

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Case Study: The Flexible Study Room

"Chill out rooms" at Blough-Weis Library at Susquehanna University

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Sources

Dwyer, Patrick, et al. "Building Neurodiversity-Inclusive Postsecondary Campuses: Recommendations for Leaders in Higher Education." Autism in Adulthood, 5.1, pp. 1-14. https://doi.org/10.1089/aut.2021.0042
Hinson-Williams, J. "Autistic Students and Academic Library Research: Recommendations for a Neurodiversity-Informed Approach." IntheLibrarywiththeLeadPipe, https://www.inthelibrarywiththeleadpipe.org/2024/autistic-students/, accessed November 20, 2024
McDowall, Almuth, and Meg Kiseleva. "A Rapid Review of Supports for Neurodivergent Students in Higher Education. Implications for Research and Practice." Neurodiversity 2, pp. 1-16. https://doi.org/10.1177/27546330241291769