Cafe Session: Seeking Neurodivergent Perspectives

Neuroinclusion isn’t just something we do to learners, it’s something we build with them. And one of the most powerful tools we have to do that is their own lived experience.

When we seek the perspectives of neurodivergent learners and their whānau, purposefully, respectfully, and regularly, we deepen connection, spark change, and make our classrooms and schools more responsive, more humane, more effective, and more neuroinclusive.

What Does It Mean to Seek Neurodivergent Perspectives?

It means more than just asking a few questions. It means designing how we ask, what we ask, and what we do with the answers in ways that honour difference and build trust.

Done well, seeking perspectives can increase a learner’s sense of belonging and identity, improve support, and lead to real action. Done poorly or not at all, it can signal that their voices don’t matter.

Here are four easy ways to seek out neurodivergent perspectives:

1. Be Curious and Non-Judgemental

Start by asking not just what learners say, but what they’re telling us beneath the words. Listen for patterns, but also for outliers. Every brain is different, and so is every experience.

Try asking:

“What’s one part of the day that feels great for you?” 

“What’s one part that feels tricky?”

2. Ask the Right Questions at the Right Time

Don't wait until things go wrong, and don’t wait until the start or end of the year. Ask early. Ask often. And be specific.

Try this:

“What’s it like for you at break time?” 

“What helps you feel ready to learn when school starts each day?”

3. Match the Mode to the Learner

An emailed survey won’t work for everyone. Talking won’t either. Think flexibly: use art, building, games, stories, emoji scales, class voting, movement. Make it short, clear, and accessible.

Try this:

“Draw what a calm classroom feels like for you.” 

“Build something that shows how assembly feels in your body.” 

“Thumbs up / sideways / down” on different school spaces”

4. Make It Matter

What we do after the listening is what builds trust. Communicate back what you heard. Trial one change. Let learners know how their voice helped shape it.

Try this:

“Lots of people told us noise is tricky, so we’re trialling ear defenders and soft music after lunch.” 

“You said break time felt loud and lonely, we’re introducing a quiet zone with a few new games.”

Final Thought

Seeking perspectives isn’t just about an annual survey or anecdotal observations. It’s a commitment to relationship, to responsiveness, and to respecting the lived experience of learners whose brains work differently. And when we honour those perspectives, all learners can thrive in our schools.

Watch our Building A Neuroinclusive School Community Cafe on Seeking Neurodivergent Perspectives here: