Classroom spaces, physical and virtual, present numerous barriers to academic achievement for disabled students. Compound these spaces with ableist teaching practices and it is little wonder schooling traumatizes many students.<\/p>\n
\u201cToday\u2019s classrooms better meet the social and academic needs of students,\u201d I\u2019ve heard experts proclaim.<\/p>\n
Really? Which students? Surely not the Neurodiverse, the introverts, or anyone not fitting the archetypical student template. If you don\u2019t fit the norms, classrooms are not designed for you and nor are the teaching practices employed in those spaces.<\/p>\n
My autistic traits were often triggered by classrooms. Fortunately (or not), I can repress my autistic nature. This \u201cmasking\u201d contributes to autistic burnout, but that\u2019s not something the educational system considers. Bluntly, the overload many students experience is something most teachers don\u2019t consider.<\/p>\n
Teacher preparation programs encourage practices that conflict with Neurodiverse needs. New teachers absorb the \u201ctruths\u201d taught to them as pedagogical best practices. Teachers are trained to create visually stimulating spaces. They are taught that traits associated with extroversion are desirable. Group spaces are encouraged.<\/p>\n
Dizzying Physical (and Online) Spaces<\/strong><\/p>\n When did we decide every child (and young adult) needed a \u201cvisually stimulating\u201d classroom? A few posters, maybe, but as a student, parent, researcher, and consultant I\u2019ve seen too many rooms that look like one of those spinning paint projects. Colors everywhere. Items on the walls and hanging from the ceilings. Posters, calendars, art projects, and more cover every inch of wall space.<\/p>\n Some colors bother me. A whirlwind of colors is outright painful. At least try to do something coordinated with the colors and images.<\/p>\n And then there are the desks. Arranging desks as large tables in the middle of the room looks like a call center. At least some rooms use actual tables. Massive tables, without much space for navigating.\u00a0I was told by an education professor that they sought to model \u201ccutting-edge workplaces that emphasize roaming and collaborating.\u201d Because surely the \u201copen floor plan\u201d workspace is good, right?\u00a0If nothing else comes out of the pandemic years, I hope it is the death of open floor plan spaces.<\/p>\n Science labs should have tables, nicely spaced for the instructor and students to safely move instruments and supplies. Computer labs organized in a \u201chorseshoe\u201d pattern work well for helping and monitoring students.<\/p>\n But please don\u2019t create massive islands in the room. Students move their chairs back and block the paths. I\u2019ve had students at opposite tables shove back, blocking my path forward. No. Don\u2019t use these arrangements.<\/p>\n I visited a room in which learning centers were across from each other, so at every change students had to cross the room. Why not move in a clockwise (or counterclockwise) direction from center to center? \u201cI want students to encounter each other and share their excitement.\u201d Students were moving chairs, banking into each other, racing from corner to corner. There\u2019s no defense for this arrangement.<\/p>\n Design spaces with educational goals in mind, yes, but don\u2019t make them endurance tests.<\/p>\n Acting Like a Good Student<\/strong><\/p>\n Acting normal is a form of \u201cmasking,\u201d and it is associated with autistic burnout.<\/p>\n The performative nature of being a \u201cgood student\u201d annoys the heck out of me. As long as you look like you\u2019re being a good student, you must be learning.<\/p>\n In 2019, I attended a summer \u201cboot camp\u201d for educators. One of the presentations included posters featuring the rules for active listening, known by the mnemonic SLANT<\/strong>. These posters tell students to S<\/strong>it up; L<\/strong>ean forward; A<\/strong>sk and Answer Questions; N<\/strong>od and Smile; and T<\/strong>rack Speakers with Eyes and Ears.\u00a0My daughters and I would surely be penalized in a classroom enforcing the SLANT rules.\u00a0I was called out during the boot camp because I didn\u2019t follow the rules.<\/p>\n Sitting normally is not a Neurodiverse norm. Leaning towards a speaker? No thank you. I\u2019m certainly not going to interact just for show, either. \u00a0Will there be cues to indicate when we should nod and smile, light the applause sign for a studio audience? Seriously, this SLANT thing is so phony it makes me angry as I write this.<\/p>\n Some days, when I take notes while listening I lose track of the speaker. Yet, I had instructors demand that students take notes and then turn in the notes. Mine were always marked down because I write so slowly by hand. I can type quickly, on good days. And then there are the days when even typing proves impossible.<\/p>\n I also had an instructor who demanded we highlight important passages in book chapters. I hate, hate, hate destroying a book with highlighting. Let me use Post-It flags, at least. Do not ask me to damage something I care about as deeply as books. Some Neurodiverse students struggle when asked to identify the \u201cmost important passages\u201d in a text. They highlight everything. That\u2019s not useful, either.<\/p>\n Learning to tell white lies caused me significant stress as a student. Polite but empty phrases and gestures expected of good students exhaust me.<\/p>\n Collaboration Indoctrination\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n Collaborative groups? Please, no. Stop it. No more fake group work.<\/p>\n The primary reason I objected to independent study in school is that it wasn\u2019t my choice.<\/strong> I\u2019m rebellious like that. Don\u2019t tell me I should work alone since I\u2019m ahead of my classmates. I\u2019ve even had instructors tell me I was ahead of what they planned to teach \u2014 and in one case, I was ahead of what the instructor knew. At least she was honest.<\/p>\n Yet, given a choice, I probably would opt to learn on my own, in a corner, without having to slow down for everyone else in the class. Let me go at my speed, not some slow, plodding pace set by an artificial calendar or the slower students.<\/p>\n In a group, I\u2019m one of those students who will do the work so I don\u2019t get a low grade. I don\u2019t trust other students to work hard. Each additional group project only reinforced my bias against collaboration at school. I\u2019m sorry, but school isn\u2019t work\u2026 and the collaborative methods are not equivalent. Even at the university level, group projects were a punishment for the grade-obsessed students.<\/p>\n I \u201ccollaborate\u201d professionally. It\u2019s not the same. I do my job, and that job is part of a managed project. Stop playing workplace at school.<\/p>\n Advocating for Change<\/b><\/p>\n As a parent of Neurodiverse daughters, I have seen them struggle as I did in classrooms. It saddens me to realize that classrooms have become less inviting spaces for some students, not more accommodating and inclusive. Yes, I believe today\u2019s classroom spaces are worse for autistics, students with ADHD, and other Neurodiverse learners. The cult of the extrovert has ruined learning spaces for some of us.<\/p>\n No wonder the girls want to continue learning at home.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Classroom spaces, physical and virtual, present numerous barriers to academic achievement for disabled students. Compound these spaces with ableist teaching practices and it is little wonder schooling traumatizes many students. \u201cToday\u2019s classrooms better meet the social and academic needs of students,\u201d I\u2019ve heard experts proclaim. Really? Which students? Surely not…<\/p>\n