The org is absolutely full of Neuro Diverse people and we are getting a lot better at catering for everyones individual needs.
I recently staffed a course where we had people who had failed SAAI courses with other providers due to their neuro diversity needs. Safe to say with the RAFAC they had no issues and passed with ease with no altering of the bar of standards, just simple changes to make them feel more comfortable.
It is possible, people just need to be open about their needs in the first place and then trainers need to understand those needs to accommodate them.
I was recently told by a friend who was attending a first aid course…. and the trainer had left a selection of fidgit toys on each group’s tables.
They explain that there was a large amount of course content to cover - but didn’t make any special reference to the toys… just let them be picked up and played with as and when needed.
The attendee then fed back that they had been impressed by the level of attention from all of the delegates… and that they perceived everyone to have taken more on board - compared with typical courses.
The point is - making SMALL changes to adapt the way information is communicated, for the benefit of the (relative) minority is actually beneficial to the entire group… in other words, “everyone does better…!”
I’ve brought this to the attention of my daughter’s school - who are now planning an experiment with students.
The fidget toy thing is a trick I’ve heard of used in L3 Teaching and Learning quals. The instructor just carried it through to an actual teaching environment.
