Strategies for supporting neurodiverse learners

Introduction

This page is designed to help you understand each learner's unique needs so that you can create an inclusive, safe learning environment. It offers practical strategies for supporting neurodivergent learners and groups with diverse needs, along with scaffolding techniques to support all learners throughout the learning process.

How to use this page

As you work through this page, take time to reflect on the questions and make notes. If you're working with another teacher or in a group, you can discuss the questions with your colleagues. Watch the video clips to learn more and check your answers. Sample answers are available in the expandable sections, and you can refer to the video transcript at any time. 

Before viewing 

• Do you have any experience of supporting neurodiverse learners with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) or dyslexia?
• What challenges does this present, and have you developed any effective teaching strategies for supporting them? 

Discuss with a colleague if possible or make your own notes. 

While viewing – task 1

• Can you name at least three recommendations that Julia gives for making the classroom a safe space for learners with different needs? [watch from 15.15 until 18.11]

Task 1 – transcript [15.15–18.11]

So, let's have a look. Our first criteria that we're going to be looking at is safe and enriching learning environments, which I think is fundamental, no? We all want a beautiful place to work in. So the first thing is get to know your learners. We've seen this in every single professional development course we've done. It's important to know what our learners like, what are their strengths, their weaknesses, their favourite activities, what they don't like, and it's quite easy to get a grasp on this. However, do not underestimate the power of feeling heard and seen within the classroom. We're trying to highlight the similarities, what makes us the same, what makes us form a group, and all this knowledge that we're getting from our learners can help us plan our activities and content, and most importantly, with what I'm talking about today, is avoiding topics that may be the cause of trauma. For example, if we have refugees or asylum seekers within our classroom – which is very common sadly nowadays, considering the political situation of the world – avoiding topics like war, family conflict, can be very important. Also, consider our learners may not all come from the same socio-economic groups, so talking about things like oversea holidays may not be accessible to everybody. Within our materials, we can also show accessible environments, lots of gender expressions, different family settings and a range of body shapes, sizes, and of course this comes not only in visuals but also in language. When we teach terms like job titles, we could use, instead of 'fireman', we can teach gender-inclusive titles. And another thing, from an arts and crafts perspective, I find incredibly useful is creating a resource box where learners can bring in different materials, for example boxes or old cardboard, where we're helping get those resources without having to pay and we can help the families, and also the planet. So it's little things to consider when we're looking at making our learners feel heard and seen.

Task 1 – suggested answers

1. Get to know your learners well – their likes, dislikes, strengths, weaknesses, etc. and use that information to plan your activities and content.
2. Highlight the similarities within the group.
3. Avoid triggering topics like family conflict and war.
4. Be aware of socio-economic differences within the group and tailor your content accordingly.
5. Use materials that address diversity by showing a range of family settings, places that everyone can go to (accessible environments) and different body shapes and sizes.
6. Use gender-neutral language wherever possible, avoiding job titles that are gender-specific like 'fireman'.
7. Introduce a classroom resources box in which learners can put materials they've brought from home if they are able to.

While viewing – task 2

• During the next video clip, Julia mentions two specific learning difficulties – dyscalculia and autistic spectrum disorder (ASD). What resources does she say would be good for teachers to use to support these learners? [watch from 24.42 until 28.15]

Task 2 – transcript [24.42–28.15]

Let's start. So, here we have a routine. This is very useful if you have a particular learner that is ... really, really, really needs a routine. So you can just write them down. They can even tick or cross the tasks that they do, and it gives a sense of security, and I like this one because it's a little dinosaur. And then we have timers. For example, I have my timer here and these basically are really good for children with dyscalculia, which means that you have difficulty with time management and numbers. Anything numeric is going to be difficult, so by having the colours, it helps them understand as well, it's three minutes, five minutes and that is it. Again, going back to routines, you can have a clock and it can be divided into your different sections, so for example I've got, um, vocabulary, recycling, the hello routines, etc., the songs, the dancing, TPR, then we go to our table, and we do, I'm moving the wrong one, we go to the table. So, by moving the clock, they can know exactly what is coming next. So, again, we're doing this sense of security, of safety. Um, number three, no number four, are our quiet critters, these little creatures. I personally love them. I think they're so cute. These are used for, um, sound management, so if you have a very noisy classroom or with lots and lots of learners, it's sometimes very difficult to have that quiet time of introspection and calming down. So, what you can do is you can set up quiet critters, so every time a learner is being quiet, you give them one of these. And at the end of the lesson, they put them all in a big jar. If by the end, for example, of the week or of the month, this is up to you, or the term even, they have managed to complete the jar, they can get a prize. It can be um, they can play their favourite song at the end of the classroom, they can have a pizza or you can go on an excursion. This will depend, of course, on you. And then finally we have, um, instruction binders. This one is the one that I used for my pre-primary children, so this would be, um, different for primary learners. But, um, here you have visual instructions. So, for example, if I want them to look at me, I'd show them the instruction. And they're particularly useful for children with, um, ASD, with autistic spectrum disorder, because it gives a clear reference of the instructions. So, it's how we want them to sit, that you want them to listen, to see, so it's very easy, and also it involves less teacher talking time. 

Task 2 – suggested answers

1. Dyscalculia – timers with colours to give learners a better understanding of timings usually expressed as a number.
2. ASD – instruction binders to give learners a clear, visual reference of the teacher's instructions.

While viewing – task 3

• In the next video clip, Julia mentions four more specific learning difficulties – ADHD, Irlen Syndrome, dyslexia and dyspraxia. What resources does she say would be good to have in the classroom to support these learners? [watch from 29.46 until 33.06]

Task 3 – transcript [29.46–33.06]

So, the first ones are basically great for ADHD, um, these are fidgets. You can just play with them as you are working. You can have silent ones. You can have them personalised. This, for example, if you've watched Harry Potter, is a quidditch ball and it is beautiful to look at, it's mesmerising. Each learner can have their own. I personally think we should all have a box of these in our classroom, so if learners are nervous, for whatever reason, they can get one of these gadgets and just fidget with them and they don't have to bother anyone. It's better than having the children on the table ..., which makes everyone hysterical. So, these I would 100 per cent recommend, and they're cheap as well. You can even get natural materials to calm down. Number two are basically good for any learner and they're a good way to keep record of the new vocabulary that we teach. They're very simple, but the difference with these is the background is colourful. So, you can get them in different colours, and that's very good for children with Irlen Syndrome, dyslexia, instead of having the white background. Now, this seems very silly, but having one of these can be really useful. It gives a little bit of inclination, so when learners are writing, they, especially if they have, um, dyspraxia, where they have difficulties with fine motor skills, they can use this and it gives it a little bit, makes it a little bit easier. Number four, as you said, are pencil holders. These are very controversial, and it will depend entirely on your learner. Ideally, if you have lots of different varieties, so they can select the one that is best for them. You can buy these on Amazon, you can hunt them down, um, for example, the fidgets, I've got my little stones and shells that I've been finding along the way. And I'd say this one is my favourite, for example, out of all of them, much better than plastic, and they're free. Then we have number five. These are reading overlays and you put them over text, so for learners with Irlen Syndrome or dyslexia. They're very cheap, you can get them on Amazon, they're a great resource to have in the classroom. So, if anyone needs a bit of help, and especially with CLIL, we have some very long texts, it is quite useful. And finally, scissors. If you've got arts and crafts, I definitely recommend for children with dyspraxia, um, the special ones, so that they don't have to close the scissor and open it.

Task 3 – suggested answers

1. ADHD – fidgets – to give learners something to play with when they are feeling hyper or nervous.
2. Irlen Syndrome/Dyslexia – vocabulary binders using different colours and coloured overlays to put over text – to help overcome the problem of reading black text on a white background.
3. Dyspraxia – a writing board and special scissors – to help learners overcome difficulties with fine motor skills.

While viewing – task 4

• In the next video segment, Julia talks about three different types of scaffolding: verbal, procedural, instructional. What practical examples does she give for each one? [watch from 37.56 until 43.52]

Task 4 – transcript [37.56–43.52]

Now, scaffolding. Everyone was asking about scaffolding. So, scaffolding is basically the process that we support our students during the learning. So, eventually, well, at the beginning, we start with lots and lots of scaffolding, lots of vocabulary lists, lots of sentences, but slowly we start taking that away as our learners become more independent, and they can use the second language with a bit more ease. There are three types of scaffolding, so we have verbal, procedural and instructional. 

Now, verbal scaffolding is very simple. We do it every day in our classes without even noticing. These are four steps, so first we model the activity, then we guide them, no? We might do the first one as an example, and then encourage them to continue and finally, yes, then we start letting them do the activity on their own, once they've seen the example. And finally, they do the task and we can monitor to see if they need help. So, this is a very simple way of scaffolding, and we do it every day. 

Then, we also have procedural scaffolding. Here, we have some examples. So, for example, number one is discussion with roles. Can you think of any situations, CLIL classes, where you could do a discussion with roles? So, we have a team captain, a time manager, someone that is managing the conversation, a notetaker and a presenter, to tell the teacher what has been talked about. In sport lessons, lovely. In any group work, yes, in physical education as well, absolutely. So, it's a way of making sure that all of our learners have a role. Sometimes, we have someone that's a bit shy, that doesn't want to speak, so if we give them a role, we're allowing them that opportunity. Then we have jigsaw readings, number two. Jigsaw readings are a good way of dividing a very long text into shorter parts. So, in CLIL coursebooks, we tend to have very long texts. So, if we divide it and give it to each group, each group will become experts in their section of the text. Then, they go into groups. So you'd have one from group one, one from group two, and they share the information, so at the end, everybody has the same information, but have only done the reading of a small section. Yes, exactly, class puzzle. Number three, this is a fishbowl discussion, very similar to number one. However, here we don't have roles. The inside circle talk, the outside watch and listen, and then they switch. Any ideas where we can use this? Again, yeah, exactly, debating. It's great for turn-taking. OK, number four. In number four, we have a carousel brainstorm. Here, they talk, and you can have posters around the classroom, and learners move from one poster to another and discuss the topic. And finally, number five is a pyramid discussion. So, here learners speak in pairs, then go to groups, and finally to a more general class discussion. It's great for problems and solutions. So, if we ask them a question – for example, how can we use less water? – they can come up with ideas as a pair, group and finally a whole class. 

Now, this is instructional scaffolding. I don't know why this isn't working, sorry, procedural scaffolding, and again we have some examples. So, number one is basically agreeing and disagreeing. So, we can have statements. If we want our learners to discuss the benefits of AI, and they can say why they agree, why they disagree, but they have help. In number two, we can also have visual scaffolded instructions, so the learners can listen, for example, to the layers of soil and complete. It's easier because they have the visual. Number three, again it's a text, but it has a picture and words that are highlighted to help them understand what the text says. So, don't forget how important these things can be, how much a simple image can help us. Or, in number four, you have a writing frame or speaking frame, it's up to you, where learners, for example, can compare the differences between cells. So, it's a very simple way of showing them what they need to think about and concentrate on.

Task 4 – suggested answers

1. Verbal scaffolding – modelling an activity, giving an example, monitoring and offering help.
2. Procedural scaffolding – assigning roles in discussions, jigsaw readings, fishbowl discussions, carousel brainstorms, pyramid discussions.
3. Instructional scaffolding – agree or disagree statements, images and diagrams, highlighted words, writing and speaking frames.

After viewing 

• Did you learn any new teaching strategies that could help you make your classroom more inclusive? Which teaching strategies could you use to help make your classes more accessible to all learners?
• Do you feel more confident about adapting or creating your own resources and materials that foster inclusivity? 

Download the webinar handout

More on this topic

This webinar, presented by Julia Mena Dobson, was part of a series called Creating dynamic CLIL classes for primary learners, which was recorded by British Council, France, in November 2024. 

In the series of four webinars, each speaker looks at a different aspect of delivering dynamic CLIL lessons to primary school children. You can watch the full webinars on the TeachingEnglish YouTube channel at the links below:

• Watch 'Increasing student production in English primary CLIL classrooms'.
• Watch 'The different languages of CLIL: Language use in the CLIL classroom'.
• Watch 'Teaching heterogeneous groups in CLIL primary classes'.
• Watch 'Assessment for learning, as learning and of learning in the CLIL Primary classroom'.

Find out more about the webinar series, Creating dynamic CLIL classes for primary learners.