Diverse Learners Top Hat Organizer
Article One: “Neurodiversity: The Future of Special
Education?”
● Reenvision special education in terms of
neurodiversity
○ Focuses on analyzing potential genetic
advantages and evolution of certain
disability categories as well as social &
ecological theory= seeing disability as
variation in human nature rather than
damaged or dysfunctional
○ Focuses on the strenghts, talents, and
interests of students with disabilities
rather than remedying/ correcting
deficits
■ Help students recognize their
strengths and using them to help
with their challenges= “maximize
their strengths and minimize their
weaknesses” (Armstrong, 2017,
p. 13)
● Value of diverse brains
○ Using concept of growth mindset and
neuroplasticity to change student
mentality from “fixed” to one that
constantly grows= potential
● A focus on students reframing how they see
disability/ neurological differences= a more
positive, open minded view that highlights
strengths of diversity and recognizing the worth
of their diverse brains
Similarities
● Rethinking traditional education and how we view disability & special education
● Seeing disabilities/ neurological differences as a part of diversity, such as racial, ethnic, sexual orientation,
religion, etc.
● Bringing in adaptive, assistive support structures/strategies/tools (i.e. speech-to-text for handwriting
difficulties, etc.)
● Emphasis on equity
Article Two: “Literacy Education and Disability Studies:
Reenvisioning Struggling Students”
● Reenvision special education through disability
studies in education (DSE)
○ Social context cause of differences/
disability rather than strict medical/ brain
differences
○ Remedy focused less on student deficits
and more on school structure/ practices
■ Academic problem, not disability
problem
● Disability needs to be incorporated into
curriculum
○ Reading narratives that center around
disability experiences
● Building a learning community in which everyone
belongs
○ “Presuming competence” (Collins & Ferri,
2016, p. 10)= every student has
something to contribute/ is valuable
■ Just because they have literacy
problems, doesn’t mean that
they can’t think in literate ways
● A focus on teachers reframing how they see
disability= not so much deficit, defiance, etc., but
more of a result of student’s interaction with
types of text or certain structures from
instructional designs
My Thoughts

● I had never heard of the term neurodiversity or DSE before reading these articles! I am kind of shocked.
● What are ways we can incorporate both neurodiversity or DSE into general curriculum?
● Does one method have more advantages over the other?
● The first article mentions potential roadblocks with neurodiversity, what are the potential roadblocks/
challenges with DSE?
● How recent are both of these outlooks and why haven’t they been introduced into teacher education
practices?