Know and respond to our students’ diverse needs, with a focus on disability, chronic illness and neurodivergence
Introduction
I provide elements of pastoral care as a Year and Unit Leader. A recurring theme has been students’ diverse learning needs. In this case study, I focus on students with disabilities, chronic illnesses and/or neurodivergence and the two challenges of ‘knowing’ and ‘meeting’ their learning needs.
Evaluation
1. The Knowing
The first challenge is the complexities around knowing our students’ needs. In 1-to-1 tutorials, we follow a template of questions, one of which is to ask if they have any disabilities. I added the disclaimer that students need not share this with me and I can signpost resources at LCC. Some have felt comfortable sharing, and I realised that even within the second or third year, they had not reached out to Disability Services (DS). Students shared various reasons: shame of being tagged as ‘disabled’/’neurodivergent’; anxiety/stress around the process; and not knowing the support was available. My aim has been to build rapport with students so they feel comfortable sharing so I can address these reasons. Some students reported they did not have success applying for ISAs/ECs (lack of context and evidence). I have found quick responses sending emails as the Personal Tutor to DS, CCing the student.
2. The Meeting
While I can provide pastoral care to an extent, I am not a trained counsellor and must rely on what the student/DS relays to me as best suited for the student’s needs. Complexities arise because teaching is often aimed at the class median, even in terms of content difficulty (explored further in Case Study 2). My teaching practice for students with disability, chronic illness and/or neurodivergence has been shaped by Dundas and Farrell’s Inklusion Guide (2022). It focuses on making literary events accessible, but the learnings can be extended to the classroom, such as using captioning, simple fonts and designs (UAL 2025), including breaks, etc.
Moving Forward
I have addressed some of the tensions involved in the ‘knowing’ and ‘meeting’ of students’ diverse learning needs, but the complications do not end there. Harris in ‘Embracing the Silence: Introverted Learning and the Online Classroom’ (2022) focuses on online teaching practices for introverted students, but it can be extended to students with disability, chronic illness and/or neurodivergence. The foundation of what it means to be an ‘active participant’ is a commonality (discussed in Workshop 1A too). I have a student who at times stutters and is profusely apologetic. To encourage their class participation, I prodded them but now I wonder about its efficacy. I appreciate actor Michael Sheen’s patience and acceptance while engaging with a shy student; Sheen did not prod the student but just smiled encouragingly and waited and this is a tactic I will use in the future instead (BBC 2024).
I have questions remaining about student privacy/confidentiality. I am not entirely sure if teaching staff have the ‘right’ to be informed if a student has an ISA, yet it is easily discovered. This is logistically necessary during marking, but it does not maintain students’ right to privacy/confidentiality. Moreover, a student may be comfortable sharing their diagnosis with me but not want others to know and this can complicate matters, especially when their diagnoses require others to help in case of an emergency like an epileptic or allergy attack or a fire evacuation. Thus, what I next wish to interrogate is – how can we maintain the student’s privacy while ensuring they are being provided the support they need? I will do so by speaking with Carys Kennedy, a PgCert tutor specialising in disability inclusion (UAL nd), as well as DS.
As teaching staff catering to a full classroom, I am limited in ability, knowledge and resources to address every student’s diverse learning need. While in-person classroom time and tutorial time is finite, I can improve my knowledge and skillset so I can more efficiently utilise that finite resource of time.
References
BBC (2024) [WordPress will not let me share title of piece or the link of the site – but if you google ‘Michael Sheen shy student’, you will find it] (Accessed 10 Feb 2025).
Dundas, E and Farrell, J (2022) Inklusion Guide: A kickass guide to making literature events accessible for disabled people. Available at: https://www.inklusionguide.org/download (Accessed 10 Feb 2025).
Harris, K (2022) ‘Embracing the Silence: Introverted Learning and the Online Classroom’, Spark: UAL Creative Teaching and Learning Journal, Vol 5 Issue 1, pp 101-104.
Misra, S (2025) ‘Case Study 2’, Sonali’s PgCert. Available at: https://studyon.myblog.arts.ac.uk/2025/03/13/case-study-2-teaching-an-international-classroom/ (Accessed 18 March 2025).
UAL (nd) ‘The Disability Service’. Available at: https://www.arts.ac.uk/students/student-services/disability-and-dyslexia (Accessed 18 March 2025).
” (nd) ‘Support for disabled and dyslexic students’. Available at: https://www.arts.ac.uk/students/library-services/using-the-libraries/disabled-dyslexic-students (Accessed 18 March 2025).
” (nd) ‘Extenuating Circumstances and Time Out’. Available at: https://www.arts.ac.uk/study-at-ual/course-regulations/extenuating-circumstances (Accessed 18 March 2025).
” (2025) Available at: https://www.arts.ac.uk/brand/branded-templates (Accessed 10 Feb 2025).
” (nd) ‘Carys Kennedy’. Available at: https://researchers.arts.ac.uk/3028-carys-kennedy (Accessed 10 Feb 2025).