Supporting Neurodivergent College Students | 011 | Teaching with Kindness
Reconsider designing for the mythical average student.
Sometimes one sharp insight is all we need to hold on, reset, or reengage with purpose.
Practical takeaways pulled from the Student Success Podcast, so you don’t have to listen to the whole episode (unless you want to).
Episode with Dr. Liz Norell: Show Notes | Apple | Spotify
Designing for neurodivergent college students isn’t a courtesy. It’s good pedagogy for everyone. In this Student Success Podcast episode, Dr. Liz Norell, author of The Present Professor, offers a powerful blend of personal testimony and professional insight that should push all of us to examine how we build (or don’t build) inclusive learning environments. This isn’t a surface-level conversation about accommodations. It’s an inspiration to reframe the very structure of how we teach and communicate.
Here are key takeaways with action items to consider.
You can’t support neurodivergent students without understanding what it means.
Too many of us throw around the word “neurodivergent” without understanding the spectrum. Dr. Norell’s breakdown is crucial: neurodiversity is present in every classroom, while “neurodivergent” describes individuals who process the world in non-typical ways such as ADHD, autism, dyslexia, or other cognitive differences.
Action item: Stop assuming you’ll be told. Build inclusive structures that support everyone, especially those who don’t or can’t disclose.
Course design is the front line of equity.
Faculty shouldn’t be the gatekeepers of support. Dr. Norell reminds us that most students who would benefit from accommodations won’t ever register with Disability Student Services because of stigma, bureaucratic hoops, or lack of access.
Action item: Make your course neurodivergent-friendly from day one. Scaffolding, clear written instructions, flexible participation structures, and sensory-aware classrooms. It’s not “extra.” It’s essential.
Scaffolding isn’t coddling. It’s clarity.
If you think chunking assignments, repeating deadlines, or providing examples is “lowering the bar,” you’ve missed the point. As Dr. Norell explains, executive functioning challenges aren’t about intelligence; they’re often about managing time and tasks under cognitive load. We all benefit from structure, but neurodivergent students require it.
Action item: Break the big things down. Repeat yourself. Use visuals. Send reminders. Give them a fighting chance.
Sharing your own humanity builds trust.
When Dr. Norell shared her diagnosis with students, she didn’t lose authority. She gained trust. This is the heart of the work: modeling vulnerability without oversharing. In online environments especially, small acts of openness make a huge difference.
Action item: Be just human enough. Students respond to real people, not perfect personas.
Don’t diagnose. Do listen.
Faculty shouldn’t “guess” who’s neurodivergent. But they can normalize flexibility, co-create classroom norms, and invite anonymous feedback. When we assume a variety of brains are in the room, we stop designing for the mythical “average” student.
Action item: Open the door, anonymously or otherwise, for students to tell you what helps.
The consequences of misunderstanding are real.
Dr. Norell shared her own painful story of being denied tenure. She was labeled “unprofessional” and “not collegial” for behaviors that made sense once she was diagnosed. This isn’t just about students. Misunderstanding neurodivergence among colleagues also fuels harm, exclusion, and trauma.
Action item: Rethink what you label as “difficult.” Lack of eye contact, different communication styles, or asking for clarity doesn’t equal defiance.
Neurodivergence ≠ broken.
Dr. Norell’s final message is one that deserves repeating: if we simply assumed humanity first, without defensiveness, judgment, or ableist frameworks, so many of the structures we call “accommodations” would already exist. That’s a future worth building.
Onward…
Dr. Al Solano
Founder, Continuous Learning Institute | About
Host, Student Success Podcast
A meaningful test of success is how helpful we are in contributing to our fellow human being’s happiness.