Equality and Community in Friends Schools

Quaker Teachers Working with Neurodivergent Students

Quaker values of equality and community influence how educators who teach neurodivergent and neurodiverse students view their work. Neurodivergent students can face barriers to educational access and inclusion in classrooms because schools historically have developed to reflect the perspective of neurotypical students. Disability rights advocacy has led to national legislation and international guidelines that aim to reduce stigma around neurodivergence as well as promote inclusion and complete access to education for all students.

Dictionary definitions of neurodivergent and neurodiverse both refer to individuals whose brains function in ways that are not neurotypical. Some experts argue that neurological functioning is as unique as fingerprints and that everyone is neurodiverse. Some examples of diagnoses that are often considered neurodivergent are autism spectrum disorder and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.

Friends Journal spoke with staff members of Quaker schools in the United States, Rwanda, and Ireland about evolving views of neurodiversity. The educators also discussed how belief in equality leads to a commitment to equity. In addition, they considered the way faith in community promotes full inclusion of all students.

“As part of our Quaker religious education program, we emphasize the importance of respect for all and talk about the distinction between equity and equality to enable the children to better understand that some children need additional support in order to access what school offers,” said Deirdre McSweeney, principal of Newtown Junior School in Waterford, Ireland.

All Quaker values encourage school faculty and staff to help all students, especially those with special needs, according to pastor Nizigiye Augustin, chaplain of Collège George Fox Kagarama, a Quaker middle school in Kigali, Rwanda. As the school chaplain, he teaches employees about the love of Jesus and that humans should love each other as Jesus first loved humanity. Such moral commitments lead school staff to want to include neurodiverse pupils and offer them the resources they need to succeed.

Equity refers to students needing different support to reach their potential. It is related to the Quaker value of equality, Karen Carney, head of school at Chicago Friends School, explained. The Quaker testimony of community promotes accepting people as they are, Carney observed. Recognizing that of God within each person helps educators meet people where they are, she noted. Carney is a member of Evanston (Ill.) Meeting.

Children learn from concrete examples of equity. In one lesson, lower school students at Brooklyn Friends School in Brooklyn, New York, took off their shoes and put them in a pile, explained Kate Minear, lower school math specialist. The students each chose a pair of shoes at random to try on. The children understood that each person needs shoes that fit their feet, and they came to understand that each pupil needs lessons and curriculum that fit their brain.

Each person has a unique way of experiencing the world and processing information, regardless of whether they have a diagnosis, according to M’Balia Rubie-Miller, Brooklyn Friends School’s middle school learning specialist and all school learning support coordinator. Each person’s experience of school is influenced by a unique neurological profile.

“We have talked about how we are all neurodiverse,” said Rubie-Miller.

Contemporary beliefs about equity for neurodivergent and neurodiverse students follow those of previous generations in which they were excluded from school and faced barriers to connecting socially with other children. National legislation as well as international policies aim to remedy previous inequities.

Historically in the United States, children who would now be described as neurodivergent were segregated from their peers and not sent to school. Disability-rights activism (led in part by parents of children not allowed to attend school) led to such federal legislation as the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). The precursor to IDEA, known as the Education for All Handicapped Children Act, became law in 1975. The law mandated a free appropriate public education in the least restrictive environment for children with disabilities, including neurodivergent students.

IDEA made school accessible for neurodivergent students, but educators trained in the years following its passage continued to view such students through a deficit-based lens. More contemporary philosophies of education acknowledge the academic strengths and community contributions of neurodivergent pupils.

In Ireland, the Education Act of 1998 stated that each person, including each individual with a disability or special educational needs, has a right to an education. Educators are legally obligated to provide necessary support services as well as instruction that suits each student’s needs and abilities.

Rwanda ratified the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities in 2008 and committed to the National Policy of Persons with Disabilities in 2021. The policy notes that physical and cultural obstacles have excluded people with disabilities from participating fully in society and that the country’s leaders support complete inclusion. Historically, those who serve people with disabilities have emphasized individual impairment over removing barriers to full inclusion in society.

Inclusive and equitable school environments benefit not only neurodivergent students but all learners, according to teachers at Brooklyn Friends School. Diversity makes school communities stronger as students learn that it is all right to experience the world and express oneself in ways that do not necessarily conform to society’s norms. Neurodivergent and neurotypical students often interact well together.

“We often see kids just innately adapting to each other’s styles,” said Beth Duffy, middle school learning specialist at Brooklyn Friends School.

Children with diverse neurological profiles share many of the same concerns and interests. Neurodiverse and neurotypical children all engage in problem solving, are concerned with fairness and rules, and involve themselves in imaginative play, according to Karen Carney.

One student with a distinctive type of social interaction was voted student council representative, notes Jonathan Edmonds, lower school math specialist at Brooklyn Friends School.

“Students are accepted for all their quirks, differences, and uniqueness,” Edmonds said.

Students talk a lot about disability, justice, and identity, so neurodiversity fits in with those discussions, according to Rubie-Miller. In addition, students regularly lead assemblies on disability justice and how to be an ally.

Social-emotional learning helps all students develop personal and interpersonal competence. Teachers use conversations with students to coach them on social-emotional learning skills. One key skill that pupils practice is naming feelings, explained Sim Lynch, reading specialist and clerk of Learning Team at Buckingham Friends School, a middle school in Lahaska, Pennsylvania. Neurodiverse students might need help identifying their emotions, as well as determining steps to take when they feel a particular way, she explained. The school counselor also helps students with social-emotional learning.

Ireland’s National Council for Curriculum and Assessment mandates a social health and personal education curriculum, Deirdre McSweeney explained. The curriculum involves whole classes in lessons on friendship, acceptance, and bullying prevention.

Teachers seeking to address the needs of neurodivergent learners improve instruction for the whole class, according to Lynch. All students benefit from explicit instruction and authentic engagement when learning new skills, observed Lynch. To learn a skill, students require practice and three recalls, ideally with a sleep between each recall. Neurodiverse students may require additional opportunities for practice and recall.

Beth Duffy believes all students benefit from the multi-sensory teaching techniques that work well with neurodivergent learners.

Jonathan Edmonds noted that support for neurodivergent students helps the whole class. For example, when teachers ask students questions and then give adequate time to think of answers, all students benefit.

“It helps break that tendency to just speed and rush and rush,” Edmonds said.

Emergent readers understand that each student gets the support needed and that each learner’s needs are different, according to Kat Lofstrom, lower school learning specialist at Brooklyn Friends School. Lofstrom said that one child had described this understanding, “We’re all on a reading journey.”

In addition to enriching teachers’ academic and social instruction, neurodivergent students contribute academic strengths to their classrooms.

“Like all individuals, neurodivergent students have unique strengths,” said Lofstrom. She said that some neurodivergent pupils demonstrate considerable grit, perseverance, and a strong understanding of metacognition. “They’re really learning how they learn,” Lofstrom said.

Some students who struggle with attention can focus on specific areas of interest for long periods of time, according to Kate Minear, lower school math specialist at Brooklyn Friends School. Such students can develop a deep interest in math and excel in the subject.

“They see things visually in a really surprising way,” said Minear.

A lower school class was looking at an image made of dots, and one neurodivergent student demonstrated his own way of determining how many dots there were, Jonathan Edmonds explained. Instead of counting the dots by ones, the learner saw a triangle within the picture and used the shape to develop an understanding of how many dots there were. Neurodivergent students may make striking connections between numbers and patterns as well as numbers and shapes. Contributing such perspectives to the class enriches everyone’s learning.

Teacher training in the most current methods of instructing neurodiverse students—both in college and in professional development classes for working educators—prepares teachers to help all students succeed. In some instances, instructors lack adequate preparation and support.

Neurodiverse students might experience sensory overwhelm from loud sounds, which leads to outbursts or isolation, according to pastor Nizigiye Augustin, chaplain of Collège George Fox Kagarama middle school in Rwanda. Teachers do not have professional training to address these challenges, Augustin noted. The school offers inclusive classrooms where students with special needs socialize with students who do not have special needs.

“We need to foster inclusion and equity. We try our best to help students with special needs, but we still lack resources like specialized programs, assistive technology, and emotional support from specialists,” Augustin said. He is also the pastor of Evangelical Friends Church of Rwanda.

Historically, colleges in Ireland have not adequately prepared new teachers to address the needs of neurodiverse students, according to McSweeney. University education for teachers has improved in recent years but still does not fully prepare instructors to work with neurodivergent students, she observed. New teachers require continuing professional development in order to meet the needs of neurodiverse learners, she explained. 

Training for U.S. teachers who work with neurodivergent students has also improved over the years. Previous generations of teachers were less aware of neurodiversity, Chicago Friends School’s Carney noted. Educators used to call children with ADHD “lazy and sloppy,” observed Carney, who has ADHD.

Many teachers leave master’s programs without a solid understanding of neurodivergence, according to Brooklyn Friends School’s Duffy. For instance, educators often do not realize that students with learning disabilities have average or above average intelligence. Graduate programs also do not necessarily teach about evidence-based strategies such as multi-sensory approaches.

“I think it’s really important that school leaders, learning specialists, and teacher mentors are well-versed in those evidence-based practices,” Duffy said.

Schools can help equip teachers to work with neurodivergent students by offering professional development opportunities. Staff members at Buckingham Friends School spend time meeting together to discuss the type of learning they would like all students to receive, Lynch pointed out. Educators go to professional development training to allow time to collaborate. The school has a four-member learning team with whom teachers can discuss what they notice and what they are wondering about in students’ learning processes, Lynch explained.

Sensitivity to issues of equality and equity as well as belief in inclusive communities motivate Quaker teachers who work with neurodivergent and neurodiverse students. Friends offer a particular spiritual perspective on educating students with varying neurological profiles. Quaker educators can also draw on a long history of activism on justice issues to inspire them to advocate for neurodiverse students.

Suggestions for Further Reading Provided by Staff of Brooklyn Friends School

We’re All Neurodiverse: How to Build a Neurodiversity-Affirming Future and Challenge Neuronormativity by Sonny Jane Wise.

Demystifying Disability: What to Know, What to Say, and How to Be an Ally by Emily Ladau.

The Pocket Guide to Neurodiversity by Daniel Aherne.

Culturally Responsive Teaching and the Brain: Promoting Authentic Engagement and Rigor Among Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Students by Zaretta L. Hammond (will be updated in 2026).

The Identity-Conscious Educator: Building Habits and Skills for a More Inclusive School by Liza A. Talusan.