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SEND and Neurodiversity

What is neurodiversity?

The term neurodiversity was coined in 1998 by an autistic Australian sociologist, Judy Singer and was quickly adopted by the autistic activist community. The word neurodiversity is derived from the root words “neuro” (Greek for nerves) and the Latin root of diversity means “facing both ways.” It’s an umbrella term that summarises the deeply complex area of human neurological difference, which presents as divergent thinking and learning styles, social interaction, communication and a wide range of behaviours.  It’s a vast field of study, that zig-zags from brain chemistry, hormones and chemical messengers in the central nervous system, into every area of human-being-ness. In terms of understanding the field of neurodiversity which encompasses such a wide range of neuro-types, we are barely touching the surface.

Recognising neurodiversity  

Children change so much between 0-5 years  and it’s miraculous to watch. There are so many variations in individual children though – so how are you supposed to recognise a neurodiverse child? It can be difficult to isolate common pre-school behaviours from those that may be pointing to a longer-term developmental difference. Toddler tantrums, ‘attachment’ issues and early language delay, may be dyslexia or attention deficit in disguise.  

What we do?

  • We observe when children are at play to see how they interact, problem solve, do they prefer to play alone? Do they initiate play etc? How long does it take to soothe the child after an emotional time?

  • Our observations are over a set period of time to see if any patterns emerge.

  • We never assume ‘bad behaviour’ is deliberately challenging – we try to figure out what happened before the outburst (the antecedent)

  • We connect ‘challenging’ behaviour as an unmet need; neurodiverse children may have difficulty in expressing exactly what their need is, we need to be patient

  • We can introduce social stories to explain scenarios without ‘blame.’

  • We use simple language and sentence structures: a child’s understanding of language may be literal, requiring more thinking time.

  • We will continue with interventions, use a rolling programme of sensory, assistive technology or visuals and see how individual children respond.

  • We have a quiet zone within the nursery called our Ivy room for rest or even just quiet days.

  • We will contact relevant outside agency on your behalf to make sure we give your child the best possible start. This includes speech and language and educational psycologists! 

"If we cannot learn in the way we teach....
we must teach in a way a child can learn" 

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