13 Solid Insights for Understanding Neurodivergent Educators

Are you a neurodivergent teacher, or do you know one? This post is for you. By the end of it you will understand some of the strengths and challenges that often accompany teacher neurodivergence in the classroom.

Teachers Have ADHD, Too

One of the reasons for starting Teach with ND was how hard it is for teachers to find helpful materials designed just for them, and not the students.

When searching for how to handle time management with ADHD in schools, most of the advice is either for parents or teachers of students with the conditions.

This blog offers educational content; not medical advice. Please, consult a healthcare professional for personal mental health concerns.

Women Are Often Late-Diagnosed (If at All)

The fact is, the large majority of teachers are women. Who are the most under-diagnosed? Also, women. Why?

Because ADHD is not just the stereotypical little boy, that is ‘jumping off the walls.' ADHD simply looks different in girls and women.

The H in ADHD stands for hyperactivity, but that can be internalized as well. So unorganized, racing, or scattered thoughts also qualify.

When you start to look at the number of female teachers with their own learning differences, you can see why there needs to be more resources.

(If you are a female teacher with ADHD, you have likely noticed this.)

Years ago ADHD was just called ADD, or attention deficit disorder. Later some came to believe that ADD was for women who did not have hyperactivity.

But, now the data has progressed and neurological differences as a whole have become much better understood.

Unfortunately, though, as is often the case, there is hardly any research that has been gathered specifically from women.

ADHD Makes Staying on Top of Paperwork Even Harder

Did you know that teachers leave the profession because of this aspect, alone? If it weren't for all the red tape and paperwork, you could just focus on the teaching, people say.

When you pile on executive function challenges, this aspect of the job becomes more cumbersome.

Whether it is taking home assignments to grade and return in a timely manner, or remembering to document important phone calls, the amount of executive function tied up in this category is honestly immense.

Neurodivergent teachers who also happen to have neurodivergent children at home, can attest to the fact that having their special needs to balance on top of everything else, is also a lot to manage.

ADHD Makes Regulating Emotions More Difficult

Being a teacher is already one of the most demanding careers in terms of the emotional tole is takes. In addition, ADHDers often struggle with something called rejection sensitive dysphoria (RSD).

RSD involves reacting very strongly to any real or perceived rejection in an often debilitating way. Have you ever taken a long time to recover when a student says your lesson is boring?

Or when a parent complains that they didn't know about an event, after multiple calls, emails, texts, and flyers? Let alone comments about what you're wearing?

The events or comments that trigger RSD are different for each person.

But it can be extremely painful, and therefore take some time and treatment to learn how to cope. The key is finding a professional who truly gets where you're coming from.

The average talk therapist will likely want to explore past traumas with you, or worse, try to show you that you are in fact over-reacting. When the truth is, your brain may just be wired this way.

Time Blindness: Inaccurate Sensing of Time

Staying on time is critical to teachers' job in multiple ways.

From arriving on time, remembering to take attendance by a certain hour every day, to escorting a class to the bus, and everything in between, teachers are on the clock.

Unfortunately, ADHD, autism, and SPD, and other neurodivergent conditions are often accompanied by something called agnosia, or time blindness, or agnosia.

This means that it is even harder to remain on time, and why so many folks run chronically late.

Sensory Difficulties Often Accompany ADHD, Autism, and AuDHD

Would you like to wear your comfiest sweats to work so you can feel good, but don't because you fear being reprimanded or looked down upon?

Do you wince in agony and want to cover your ears when the fire alarm starts blaring, but don't for fear of looking like a child?

Do you jump back involuntarily when someone taps you on the shoulder or hugs you without permission? These are all examples of sensory responses.

One of the most challenging aspects of teaching can be coping with the constant sensory overload.

Whether you have sensory processing disorder (SPD), auditory processing disorder (APD), anxiety, depression, or any number of related conditions, being a teacher means you are often out of your physical comfort zone.

For more information about auditory solutions you can try in the classroom, read “7 Ways to Manage Noise as a Neurodivergent Teacher.”

Consistency: Not a Strong Suit

Do you always remember to praise a student when he walks instead of runs to the line?

Are you regularly keeping track of assessment data in the format the school wants, on the platform the district wants? Do you remember to document every time a child does a certain action that you are tracking?

ADHDers are, as James Ochoa says, ‘consistently inconsistent.' How else does this show up in teaching?

It results in forgetting to prepare or send out newsletters, regularly emailing or calling families. It shows up in arriving late more days than not, and in general not doing the thing you say you are going to.

But wait, this is only one side of the coin. There's a lighter side too. What about those strengths?

Before this post starts to sound too depressing, let's take a look at some of the neurodivergent strengths that teachers can take advantage of!

Creativity: A Major Strength

Neurodivergent teachers often excel in the fine and performing arts. They tend to naturally shine in music, art, dance, drama, or debate, for example.

If in alignment with those passions at work, it can be a real strength. How many of you are music, art, dance, or drama teachers? I would guess a substantial number.

This is an advantage in working with students with special education needs.

Meeting the needs of students with autism, for example, can involve connecting with them via their special interests, which can be arts-based.

Autistic children typically have certain social challenges, as compared to neurotypical children.

But when neurodivergent kids are given the opportunities to excel in an area like music, for example, it can also be an effective way to develop social skills.

Out-of-the-Box Thinking

Instead of having a class suffer through multiple choice tests, what about having them help put on a skit demonstrating what they learned?

Teachers with ADHD for example may understand how to access the students' unique strengths by leveraging their different learning styles.

Teaching styles often reflect personal experiences and learning processes.

You can use that knowledge to benefit students with ADHD, autism, SPD, dyslexia, and more. You can also serve as an important resource for neurotypical colleagues.

Humor

Perhaps originally developed out of a self-preservation mechanism, many neurodivergent educators have a knack for finding the humor in situations.

Not only does it make people feel better, but teachers who can make their classes laugh can also earn some serious political capital with them.

You can notice those same patterns in neurodivergent students. Humor can bring people together.

How many young people do you know that learn in “alternative ways,” that may disrupt the class flow? Yet, they are on great social terms with much of the school staff and student body?

Hyperfocus

Being able to stay engaged and interested in a preferred task can be a benefit. If someone is on a tight deadline, the ability to focus until the paper is written, for example, can be helpful.

It is said that some of the most prolific artists, musicians, scientists, and authors are successful in part because of this trait.

One caveat to this, however, is that many within the ADHD community argue that hyperfocus is actually harmful. The assumption held by others that it should be viewed as a “superpower” misses the full complexity of the situation.

There are a few reasons for this. When someone's interest-based task is finally over, they are often left feeling completely exhausted and drained.

There is also the humbling fact that people can't consistently choose the task that they fixate on.

This alone can be extremely frustrating and demoralizing, making the idea of hyperfocus being a superpower feel hard to accept.

Powers of Observation

Neurodivergent individuals often have unique abilities of observation and can use them in different ways.

You might be able to be aware of everything going on around yourself at all times. The saying that a teacher has “eyes in the back of her head,” is true for lots of people with ADHD.

An innate interest in creating a neurodivergent friendly classroom helps you notice small changes in body language.

You might also be quite adept at intuitively honing in on students' strengths and preferred learning environment.

Can you tell who is whispering, whose hand is raised, and who walked in with a fresh hair cut? All at the same time?

Empathy

Teachers with ADHD, autism, AuDHD, SPD, and other neurodivergence, can sometimes empathize on a deeper level.

Do you feel highly sensitive to the emotions of those around you? Can you pick up on subtle cues that show how someone might be feeling?

Use that information to help foster deeper relationships.

Understanding Neurodivergent Educators: Adaptability

When COVID hit and schools closed, teachers were thrown into a brand new world. Forced out of a comfort zone, and into new arenas of online teaching.

Teachers with ADHD and other neurodivergence can often adapt to challenging new situations quickly and effectively.

For more information on accommodations, check out “Neurodivergent Accommodations vs Neurotypical Examples,” “50 Neurodivergent Adult Workplace Accommodations Checklist,” and the “Top 10 Essential Neurodivergent Teachers Accommodations” round-up!