Wednesday June 26, 9:00 - 10:00 a.m. ET
Concurrent sessions are 1-hour presentations on a range of topics with relevance for educators working with students with LD, ADHD, and autism.
*Choose one presentation from the following during this session*:
C11: The Neurodiversity Alliance - Launching A Club
Presenters:
Adrian Martinez, Neurodiversity Alliance Director, Eye to Eye
Mike Aronsson, ND Alliance Organizer, Eye to Eye
Description:
Eye to Eye powers the national Neurodiversity Alliance club network of high school and college clubs working to celebrate neurodiversity and mobilize for disability justice. Students launch clubs on their campus with the support of a faculty advisor and the NDA staff team. Join us to learn what we offer to students, allies and how to plug into our work! This session is open to students, educators, administrators, parents, and allies.
Unfortunately this session has been cancelled due to an unseen presenter conflict. We are looking into the possibility of scheduling an additional session in its place. Stay tuned!
C12: Time Literacy: Reimagining ‘Time Management’ Support to Include Learning and Thriving
Presenter:
Darrell Earnest, Ph.D., Associate Professor, College of Education, University of Massachusetts, Amherst
Description:
Time management for neurodivergent undergraduates, including those with learning disabilities (LD) and attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), has long been identified as a hurdle impeding college graduation. Building on research in disability studies, mathematics education, higher education, and time management, I share a framework for time literacy, one’s capacity to reason about time in relation to one’s priorities, commitments, resources, and needs. In this session, I provide details of time literacy support for LD undergraduates and their reports of thriving in response to such support.
C13: Using Self-Dialogue to Boost Metacognitive Awareness and Academic Success in Neurodivergent Students
Presenters:
Marc Graff, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Education & Special Education, Touro University
Rick Bryck, Ph.D., Senior Director, Landmark College Institute for Research and Training (LCIRT)
Description:
A common challenge for students at all levels is the application of ‘metacognitive’ skills in learning situations, especially for neurodivergent individuals. This category of skills would include, for example, the ability to monitor the effectiveness of our learning efforts, and knowledge of the correct strategies to employ to enhance our learning. In this session we will report on an interventional research study aimed at helping neurodivergent college students’ apply metacognitive skills through strategy training sessions, in which these students learned to use their spoken language in order to guide their thinking on academic reading and writing tasks. Results from this study will be discussed, including implications for broader applicability of metacognitive skill training for all students and in other learning contexts.
C14 Building Bridges, Not Masks: UDL in Neurodivergent Education
Presenter:
Kelly Cray, Burr and Burton Academy; The Autist Educator
Description:
Delve into the serious risks of masking neurodivergent traits, including heightened suicide risk. In this session, we will confront the urgent need for change in our classrooms, explore the dark consequences of forcing neurodivergent students to hide their true selves and learn how the Universal Design for Learning (UDL) framework offers a lifeline. This session is a call to action, arming educators with the knowledge and urgency to dismantle harmful norms. Attend to be part of a movement that saves lives, fostering authentic support and understanding for neurodivergent learners by providing powerful alternatives to traditional classroom expectations. (Note: this session assumes some familiarity with UDL)