Understanding neurodevelopmental conditions to adapt teaching

Start with what the person wants to learn

A student needs to explain a scientific argument. She can talk through it, but leaves her answer sheet almost empty. A trainee understands a demonstration, then loses track when trying to recall the steps independently. Before choosing an adaptation, identify what you want to teach: building an argument, writing a text, remembering a procedure or working independently. These goals may overlap, but they do not always call for the same response.

The starting point suggested here is a specific situation, described together with the learner: what they are trying to do, which supports already help, and where they encounter difficulty. This approach does not replace clinical assessment. It prepares a teaching decision that you can discuss and revise. The situations in this article are fictional.

Clinical background: what the umbrella term covers

Neurodevelopmental disorders arise during development and involve areas such as intellectual, motor, language or social functioning. WHO includes autism, ADHD and disorders of intellectual development among them. ^[1]

French health authority HAS also includes communication, learning and motor disorders within the group. In French, “dys” is a common shorthand: clarify the specific difficulty being discussed. ^[4]

ICD-11 and its clinical descriptions provide a classification framework. This helps health professionals name conditions; reading it does not enable a teacher to make a diagnosis. ^[2]

Describe access to an activity

WHO’s International Classification of Functioning includes the environment when describing functioning and disability. ^[3] For teaching, we suggest a practical question: what changes when you adjust the task, materials or arrangements?

Return to the scientific argument. If the goal is explaining a phenomenon, a recorded spoken response might provide another opportunity to demonstrate knowledge. If the goal involves composing a written explanation, also plan supported writing instruction. Changing the response format and changing the learning goal are separate decisions to make explicit.

Do not derive every adaptation from a label. A resource associated with ADHD or autism can suggest possibilities; check with this individual which ones address the situation. A well-intended support can also be inconvenient, distracting or an additional task.

Plan an initial teaching attempt

Choose a bounded activity so that you can observe what happens. Keep a meaningful objective and explain what will count as success. For example: prepare two arguments and explain one to a partner. Avoid simultaneously requiring polished presentation, considerable speed and complete independence when these are not the focus of the lesson.

The following questions are an original planning aid to adapt to your setting:

• Access to instructions: can the learner explain or demonstrate what to do?
• Access to materials: can they read, hear, handle or navigate the information they need?
• Organisation: are the first action, subsequent steps and endpoint clear?
• Expression: what response format will let them demonstrate the intended learning?
• Experienced effort: what do they report about effort, discomfort or needing a break?
• Choice: which support do they agree to try, and when will you discuss it again?

Three applications across different ages

In early childhood, when the goal is recounting an event, offer pictures of familiar experiences and let the child choose their order. An adult can ask for clarification and note how the child communicates an idea, through speech, gestures or another established means. The stated goal is telling what happened; the amount of speech alone does not define success.

At age 12, to practise conversation in another language, prepare an exchange around a real decision: choosing a shared activity. Provide useful vocabulary, make the roles clear and allow requests for repetition. With a student who has ADHD, discuss the pace and organisation of the exchange in particular, without assuming that one format suits everyone.

In adult training, to learn a digital procedure, offer a completed example followed by an attempt with a reminder sheet. Ask the trainee which step would benefit from a screenshot or different wording. Then check the procedure in another situation. The reminder sheet may remain available if its use is compatible with the workplace goal.

Separate guidance from teaching suggestions

NICE guidance on ADHD includes environmental modifications tailored to individual needs. ^[5] Its autism guidance for under-19s highlights communication supports and individual sensory sensitivities. ^[6] These references provide guidance for England; they do not establish French administrative procedures.

Our examples extend these principles through teaching choices. They are not validated protocols or lessons whose effectiveness has been measured. A professional guideline, a study of a particular intervention and a teacher’s proposal provide different kinds of evidence. Do not turn a plausible example into a guarantee of results.

Choose the next step with the learner

After the attempt, return to the goal and two or three useful observations: what was completed, with which support and at what reported cost in effort. Ask what the person would keep or change. Record a short description instead of an overall verdict such as “it works”.

You can retain the support, adjust it or try another option. Success with a support does not make that support unnecessary. If the activity remains inaccessible, describe the difficulty more precisely and involve the appropriate education or health contacts for the setting. The aim remains meaningful participation in learning.