Redesigning Engineering Education for Neurodiversity: New Standards for Inclusive Courses

Abstract

Meaningful inclusion of neurodivergent students in engineering requires us to move beyond a focus on accommodations and accessibility and embrace a strengths-based approach toward neurodiversity. A large body of literature suggests that neurodivergent individuals, including those with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), dyslexia, or autism spectrum disorder (ASD) possess a wide range of unique strengths that may be assets in engineering. These strengths include divergent thinking, risk-taking, 3-dimensional visualization skills, pattern identification, and systems thinking. Despite the potential of nontraditional thinkers to contribute to engineering breakthroughs, recruitment and retention rates of neurodivergent students in engineering programs remain extremely low. The emphasis on conventional pedagogical methods in engineering programs, coupled with a deficit-based approach that is focused on the remediation of weaknesses, does little to foster the unique strengths of neurodivergent students. In addition to the obstacles posed by traditional education system, the stigma related to a disability label leads many neurodivergent college students to neither discuss their diagnosis with peers and professors nor obtain academic accommodations that may help them to persist in a challenging learning environment.