For many neurodivergent students, the traditional university structure presents a series of invisible barriers. High-stakes timed exams, sensory-overwhelming lecture halls and rigid academic norms often assume a neurotypical baseline for success. These conditions can place students who process information differently at a distinct disadvantage.
However, neurodivergent students have the right to learn without obstacles. When higher education values and protects diverse ways of thinking and working, more students flourish, and learning becomes richer.
A framework for neurodivergent-inclusive teaching and learning
In our Neurodivergent Education for Students, Teaching and Learning (NESTL) project, we centre neurodivergent expertise and lived experience. Working with self-identified neurodivergent students and educators, we co-developed a toolkit for neurodivergent-inclusive teaching and learning in higher education.
The NESTL toolkit includes four primary areas of action:
• Awareness and understanding: enhancing knowledge and understanding of neurodiversity and reducing stigma
• Teaching practice, space and materials: designing inclusive approaches and sensory-friendly physical, social and digital learning environments
• Assessment and feedback: redefining the meaning of “academic success” and how we measure it
• Adjustment and support: providing responsive, universally accessible support.
Each area requires four forces of change to drive progress:
• Individual initiatives: everyday practices led by individual educators
• Communal efforts: collaborative work at the department or college level
• Institutional changes: policies and cultural shifts that reshape the teaching climate
• Sector-wide transformations: systemic changes to embed and support neurodiversity in education.
Practical tips for educators
The toolkit includes strategies educators can apply immediately. Here are a few examples:
• Understanding “masking” – a behaviour that involves hiding traits to appear neurotypical
• Including an accessibility statement in your syllabus to signal a safe opening for conversations about needs, which is especially important because many students may lack a formal diagnosis due to long waiting lists or systemic biases
• Within the classroom, educators can provide or allow students to use fidget items such as stress balls
• For class activities, consider using a think-pair-share format. It means encouraging students to think on their own, then share their ideas with another student or within a small group, and finally with the whole class. It gives students the physical and cognitive space to process information without the pressure of an immediate verbal response
• Acknowledge and adjust to sensory needs in classrooms, such as sensitivity to harsh lighting or background noise, and offer hybrid learning options where students can better control their environment
• Offer diverse assessment and feedback formats and provide grace periods for extensions on formative work to ensure assessment remains accessible for everyone.
We also argue for adopting universal design for learning principles. Adjustments intended to help neurodivergent students, such as clear step-by-step instructions or flexible deadlines, would ultimately benefit the entire academic community. When we build flexibility into our teaching as a standard feature, rather than an exceptional request, we create a more resilient and inclusive system for everyone.
- Six ways to create an autism-friendly learning environment
- Prevent overstimulation and support autistic students in the laboratory
- Rethinking neurodiversity in higher education
For educators with full calendars and limited bandwidth, this work can start small. Make one change each week and let it accumulate. This week, you might consider sharing a brief reflection on your learning journey around neurodiversity. It signals openness, invites conversation early and moves the learning environment closer to trust and support.
Strategic priorities for university leaders
Systemic change extends beyond individual classrooms. Senior leadership can drive this transformation by focusing on strategic pillars:
Policy and culture: review institutional policies, from attendance to assessment, to ensure they do not penalise neurodivergent students. Expand access to support beyond diagnosis-led routes, since formal diagnosis is often delayed by long waiting lists and shaped by systemic disadvantages and bias. Create visible opportunities to talk about neurodiversity in everyday university life, so awareness becomes shared, language becomes familiar and inclusive culture feels normal across the institution.
Physical and digital estate management: build neurodivergent-inclusivity into infrastructure. Design sensory-considerate physical spaces, ensure quiet rooms are available and make digital platforms accessible by default.
Redefining academic excellence: encourage departments to diversify assessment models. Broaden how “excellence” and “success” are defined and measured, so neurodivergent students can demonstrate knowledge and capability through accessible formats.
Support neurodivergent educators: our research found that neurodivergent educators often shoulder extra practical and emotional labour in supporting neurodivergent students, alongside navigating their own neurodivergence at work. Leaders can respond through workload recognition for inclusive practice and confidential routes to workplace adjustments that respect privacy and reduce the burden of disclosure.
Xin Xu is a departmental lecturer in higher and tertiary education in the department of education at the University of Oxford.
Laura Seymour is a senior lecturer in English and Wellcome Trust career development fellow in the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences at Swansea University.
Georgia Lin is a recent DPhil graduate in education from the department of education at the University of Oxford.
Cressida Ryan is a disability adviser at the University of Oxford and a supernumerary fellow at Wolfson College, Oxford.
Siân Grønlie is a professor of Old Norse and Kate Elmore Fellow in English in the Faculty of English at the University of Oxford.
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