Problems in Practice: Neurodiversity and Isolation
Everyday, RTLB who service rural schools head out relatively equipped to face whatever challenges they may encounter; whether this be directly related to our case work or within our liaison capacity… and those of us who have been around a while also know to expect a few curve balls!
However, recent conversations with other RTLB colleagues across the motu, has left me pondering this thought, “What if the isolated rural school our neurodiverse student is zoned to, isn’t the school for that neurodiverse child?”
As our understanding of the brain becomes more in depth, anecdotally we can also see a rise in neurodiversity across all settings. In urban centers, there is often a variety of schooling options for whānau to choose from. They have the option to send their child to the school which will suit their needs and if that doesn’t work out for whatever reason, there is a back up option or three!
Within our rural communities; there is little choice for our whānau. RTLB are often trying to support schools to find ways to cater for the needs of their neurodiverse students but without the personnel, resourcing and range of options that bigger schools can offer.
In 2020, the Donald Beasley Institute produced a literature review entitled Responding to neurodiversity in the education context. The report identified the following key factors to supporting neurodiverse students in school:
prioritising and valuing relationships
developing agency
supporting students to understand and manage their own behaviour
creating inclusive environments
and embedding inclusive teaching strategies
In an ideal rural school environment, where the teaching Principal gets released, and they can find a suitable Teacher Aide to employ within their community (and maybe even a school secretary/caretaker), this can lead to key interventions being implemented which support neurodiverse learners. However, more often than not, this is not possible in a small rural school and yet more and more students are enrolling who have diagnosed neurodiversity.
A key finding from Donald Beasley Institute (2020) which supports neurodiverse ākonga is the importance of ‘prioritising and valuing relationships’. It states, “Teachers must also be active agents in facilitating neurodiverse students to foster relationships with their peers” (Donald Beasley Institute, 2020, p. 4).
In a rural school with no spare personnel to support interventions which require social coaching, facilitating peer relationships can be challenging. Primarily, you need peers willing to foster the relationship. Some of these peers have been in the same class as the student since they went to community playgroup together. Occasionally, over time, the actions of the neurodiverse student can unwittingly create fear or apprehension among their peers due to the intensity, frequency, duration and erratic nature in times of dysregulation. The barrier is also often further reinforced by the conversations held over the farm dinner table, gossip at the school gate or within the wider community.
Karen Young, author of Hey Warrior recently presented a Compass Seminar about Big Feelings. In the seminar, she mentioned the term ‘mattering’. She quoted an African proverb;
“The child who is not embraced by the village will burn it down to feel its warmth.”
Karen Young was making the point that the child who ‘burns down the village’ (aka destroys the lesson) will recruit in the classroom if they don’t feel connected and like they matter. Mattering is a vital state. Without it, there are scientifically proven negative later-in-life health outcomes for our ākonga who no longer feel like they belong or matter as young people in the classroom.
When we think of this in a rural context, for RTLB this becomes even more complex. Sure, we can walk in with all the strategies under the sun but if the teacher is feeling persecuted by the community and/or overwhelmed by the constantly changing curriculums and staffing shortages and peers are fearful of their neurodiverse classmate; what then?
This is a challenging conversation because as RTLB, we are strength based practitioners who champion inclusivity. And I wish I could finish this blog with some inspired solutions to this common challenge that has sparked lively conversations with many rural RTLB. But instead I am left wondering; would more timely support for a school and the neurodiverse student have made a difference? Or is this bigger than just RTLB? Or is this now another layer of complexity to our work?
Many RTLB who have the privilege of working in rural schools often see exciting and engaging learning, and schools that are full of opportunities which urban environments cannot offer. Tuakana-teina happens naturally in all settings schoolwide and the wider community pitches in any way they can to ensure the school thrives. This is a vision of education for our ākonga that we all aspire to, yet we are also aware that sometimes this vision is beyond our reach despite our best efforts.
Reference
Donald Beasley Institute. (2020, July). Responding to neurodiversity in the education
context. New Zealand Ministry of Education, Education Counts.
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