No Mind Left Behind: A classroom designed for everyone

Kara’s talk in March 2024 for the 49th Annual Conference, Institut des troubles d'apprentissage  (Learning Disabilities Institute, Quebec)

This practical session - filled with anecdotes and student voices - will include planning considerations and tips for creating neurodiversity-affirming classrooms. Kara will share lessons learned from a decade and a half of teaching neurodivergent students, her own learning experiences as an autistic with ADHD, and her ongoing research in accessibility and universal design at all levels of education. Learn how to:

-Prepare the environment so everyone is expected, planned for, and welcomed from the outset;

-Communicate more effectively with neurodivergent thinkers;

-Identify barriers that may arise throughout the learning process for different learners and the supports and strategies that really work;

-Nurture student metacognition and self-advocacy; and -Adjust process, product, and assessments to benefit all learners in your class.