Nancy Gray, NMC Communications Faculty and Neurodiversity Support Center Coordinator, recently returned from the College Autism Summit in Pittsburgh, an event that provided insights into supporting neurodivergent students in higher education. This professional development opportunity, funded by CIE, offered a chance to connect with experts and colleagues dedicated to fostering inclusive and effective learning environments. Read Nancy’s reflection on the experience and how the summit has enriched her perspective and brought back actionable strategies to enhance the support offered at NMC.
What was the name of the conference/PD opportunity you attended?
College Autism Summit
When and where did the event take place?
Pittsburg, Pennsylvania—November 2nd – 5th
Please share details from a memorable keynote speaker, conference session, or something else notable from the event.
This conference’s motto is nothing about us without us, so the keynote, most of the presenters and many of the attendees are neurodivergent. It was inspirational and so helpful to hear from neurodivergent professionals, PhD. candidates and researchers about what helps them learn and succeed. One notable session was about neurodivergent burnout. It’s different from what we perceive as burnout because neurodivergent folks are usually in systems that blame them instead of looking at systemic change. For example, a neurodivergent person experiencing burnout will have a loss of skills, so they will actually be incapable of doing something they could do the week before. They are often perceived as willful, unmotivated, lazy, and need a “fire lit under them.” In reality the hard work of masking(trying to appear neurotypical), managing sensory overload and anxiety simply wears them out to the point of complete inability to function. What can we do? Listen, believe and respect. If a student tells you they can’t do something, don’t automatically push them aside and say, “sure you can.” Instead, listen to them, ask questions, believe them when they say they need more time, someone to read or scribe a test even if they don’t have formal accommodations and even if they could do it on the last test or project. We can respect people to be self-aware and help them figure out how to get their needs met. If we don’t do this, they will leave, fade away without explanation. If we start to see our role in their failure, we might be able to head the burnout off and help them finish.
How likely are you to recommend this opportunity to a colleague?
Very Likely
Do you have any big takeaways that you’ll be applying to your pedagogy in the near future?
I’m creating assignments that are streamlined without a lot of introductory discussion. They get to the point, tell the student what is expected and breaks the assignment down into manageable sections, so that the scaffolding is very clear and they can see how each piece will create the overall project.
Is there anything else you’d like CIE or your colleagues at NMC to know about this experience?
I would love it if more people would come! At NMC our neurodivergent students often fade away, and we need to start looking at how we are the problem and help them finish and succeed.
Unfortunately, we weren’t able to get Swoop to Nancy before she left, but she shared a few pictures anyway.
