The Neuro-Spicy Student Brain: Addressing the Unique Needs of Students with Adult Autism and ADHD

Meet Jacob

Jacob, a pseudonym for a student in one of my prior classes, was ambitious, highly intelligent and was navigating several developmental disabilities. He was further along the autism spectrum, he had a slight tick which interrupted his speech patterns and a severe form of adult attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

He would show up to class early to ask questions, daze off mid lecture, then ask for a recap on the portion of my lesson I had just covered. He would arrive frustrated to every single office hour session, pull out my slide deck and proceed to ask me to re-teach 70% of what was on each slide. Needless to say, I was drained.

Other students in my class would grimace and murmur under their breath as we would wade through lectures at a snails pace, and then rush to cover the last few slides so that I could dismiss them on time. He did not work well in groups and he did not particularly enjoy the games I planned for our quiz review sessions. While I enjoyed having Jacob as a part of my class, there were times when I felt completely helpless.

Why should we care?

According to Center for Disease Control and Prevention (2023 ), 1 in 44 adults has autism and that number is steadily growing as more children are being diagnosed yearly. In another published article by Forbes Health, a study in 2020 revealed that 366 million adults worldwide have ADHD.

At the college I currently teach at, classes in my discipline will accept 45-75 students on average. Large freshmen lecture hall introductory courses could have anywhere from 100-200 students enrolled. I am firm believer that when we know better, we should do better.

Autism and ADHD in Adulthood

Here is what these disorders might show up looking like in your classroom:

• The inability to connect with other students in the classroom, especially during paired or group activities
• Expecting one-on-one lesson-delivery as a strategy for maintaining their attention and reinforcing the information
• Poor time management that leads to unfinished projects and assignments
• Becoming easily overwhelmed with the college workload and subsequently struggling to manage the emotions that accompany that feeling

Accommodating Neurodiverse Students

Midway through the semester, I decided to search for ways to help Jacob. Here is what I came up with:

"Whenever I think about equity, I consider the life-long race that has different starting points depending on pieces of our identity."

1. Create your own set of accommodations: In conjunction with the accommodations that the Disability Support Office gives for each student, I have created a list of my own. For instance, students with ADHD can take breaks as often as they need to during class as long as they are not being disruptive to other students. Students who identify as being on the spectrum have the option of working on class activities alone instead of in pairs or groups.
2. Reach out to students early on: As soon as I get an email about a student with a developmental or learning disability, I ask them to meet with me. They begin by explaining the strategies that promote success (this broaches the subject of their disabilities with a strengths-based approach). I also ask them for advice on what I can do to create an environment that supports their needs. The answer always varies but it establishes a relationship of trust and understanding. Lastly, I let them know what the boundaries of my class-accommodations are so that we can brainstorm other support services that can fulfill needs I am unable to meet.
3. Flexibility is key: Whenever I think about equity, I consider the life-long race that has different starting points depending on pieces of our identity. It can take children with Autism 5-6 years before they begin speaking fluently (that’s 3 years past the average age for speech fluency in neuro-typical children). Students diagnosed with ADHD are at more than double the risk for behavioral problems and mental health struggles in adulthood (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2019 ). If we understand how much further back some students starting points are, then it’s easier to justify “the exception” when we give them another chance to fix their work or extra time to turn assignments in.

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Thank you, Jacob!

Jacob was a star and he ended up earning an a well-deserved 85% in my class. Not only was I proud of him but grateful that he opened my eyes to doing the necessary work in considering the needs of our neuro-diverse students more carefully.

Ashley Berry is the CEO and Founder of The Higher Ed. Institute , an educational consulting firm that specializes in collaborating with faculty on best pedagogical and andragogical classroom practices.

If you are interested in learning more about best practices for trauma-response, please feel free to contact me at [email protected] .