"The Neurodiversity Playbook": LCIRT Featured by the Chronicle of Higher Education
Landmark College's work training other institutions to better serve neurodivergent students is the subject of a new feature in The Chronicle of Higher Education. The article, "The Neurodiversity Playbook: How One Tiny College Is Teaching Others to Adapt," by Katherine Mangan, examines how Landmark's Institute for Research and Training (LCIRT) is helping colleges nationwide respond to a fast-growing population of students with ADHD, autism, dyslexia, and other learning differences.
The piece opens with River Valley Community College in New Hampshire, where the number of students approved for academic accommodations tripled in three years. Facing that surge without a clear framework for balancing flexibility with academic rigor, River Valley turned to LCIRT for training — and the results changed how its faculty teach and assess students.
That story reflects a national trend the article lays out in detail: the share of college students with registered disabilities nearly doubled between 2004 and 2020, according to U.S. Government Accountability Office data cited in the piece. LCIRT now works with roughly 40 colleges a year, and enrollment in Landmark's graduate certificate program in learning differences and neurodiversity has quadrupled since 2018.
Dr. Adam Lalor, Landmark's vice president for neurodiversity research and innovation, spoke extensively with the Chronicle about how the College's professional development work — from the Summer Institute for Educators to campus neurodiversity audits — translates research into classroom strategy. Maryellen Guardino, director of accommodations and accessibility at Marist University, put it simply: Landmark College is "the pioneers and experts in the field."
Read the full article at chronicle.com to see how Landmark's model is shaping accessibility practice across higher education — and learn more about LCIRT's professional development offerings for educators looking to bring these strategies to their own campuses.