Schools are not resourced enough to manage the needs of neurodivergent students.
That’s according to author Hannah Daly, who has ADHD, autism, dyslexia, and dyspraxia.
She says that while research shows up to 20% of the population may have a neurodivergent condition, most Irish classrooms are designed in a “neurotypical way,” which can prove challenging for students.
An occupational therapist, Ms Daly said many children in a classroom are “experiencing the world in a different way” to one another.
“There are a lot of things that are immediately going to be challenging or triggering for you in school," she told Lunchtime Live.
“If you’ve got sensory issues, you might need to fidget or move to help you process; it might be trouble with sitting still and listening, eye contact, and small talk.
“A lot of these things are very neurotypical ways of being, but they don’t necessarily work for someone who’s neurodivergent.”
“A school is noisy, there’s a lot of things to navigate, like the yard that’s busy very often and you might be a child that needs lots of calm and quiet, but you may also be a child who needs movement and noise.”
Managing neurodivergence
Ms Daly said there’s no “one size fits all” rule when it comes to managing neurodivergence.
“Unfortunately, the schools aren’t well-resourced and there are big discrepancies from school to school,” she said.
“We first need to increase education and teachers' understanding of what it is to be autistic or what it is to be dyslexic or dyspraxic.
“We also need more resources and more supports to allow more variety in the day.”
Elementary school children smiling in classroom. Image: Fredrick Kippe / Alamy Stock PhotoADHD coach Aoife Hughes thinks classroom staff need a better understanding of how the brain works to better manage the needs of neurodivergent students.
“Teachers and SNAs cannot implement and support what they're not trained in,” she said.
“Having worked in the system for 20 years, the curriculum is just missing the mark when it comes to supporting children with their mental health.
“It also has a knock-on effect on our neurodivergent students as well because how can you really understand autism and ADHD if you don’t even understand the brain on a neuroscience level?”
Brains
Ms Hughes said it’s also important to teach neurodivergent students how their brains work.
“They have an overwhelming sense of feeling misunderstood on so many levels - from a sensory point of view, from an emotional point of view, just a general understanding of what life is like for them,” she said.
She added that change towards neurodivergent-friendly schools “has to start with politicians and principals.”
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