With the term "diversity," we embrace the uniqueness of our world and advocate for enlightenment, consideration, and inclusion. This also applies to neurodiversity: Human brains naturally function differently in many variations, which inevitably affects the learning process. In this article, we explore how you can adapt your online courses to the diversity of neurodivergent learning styles.
Finally Free from Stigma
It has not been so long ago that people with unusual thinking patterns were taken into psychiatric confinement, subjected to harsh treatments, and stripped of the opportunity to lead a dignified life. Unfortunately, this has not completely ended, especially not in all parts of the world, but thank God through diligent research it has been established and widely accepted that different cognitive processing styles occur in more or less pronounced forms in far more people than previously thought.
What applies to many people cannot be so abnormal, and since there are highly likely to be "differently thinking" individuals among the participants in your online courses, we provide you with some tips on how to recognize them and how to create learning content that is meaningful and effective for a broad, inclusive learning community.
Some Learn Differently
By definition, "neurodiversity" describes the natural diversity of neurological developments and functions of the human brain. A person is considered neurodivergent if their brain differs in structure and function from neurotypical brains. Aha.
You have surely heard of diagnoses like ADHD, autism, dyslexia, or dyscalculia. However, these neurological profiles are not deficits or diseases, but simply alternative processing methods in the brain, which often bring specific strengths but also special challenges.
This is particularly evident in learning: Neurodivergent brains often process information differently. Especially in a digital learning environment, neurodivergent individuals face unique hurdles that can sometimes be difficult to overcome. This directly affects motivation, processing ability, and the overall learning experience.
To help you understand this, we provide a simplified description of the most important differences compared to neurotypical learners:
Information Processing: While neurotypical learners process information step by step and linearly, neurodivergent learners, for example, those with ADHD, tend to think in "jumps" or pursue multiple ideas simultaneously. This can make focusing on a single task challenging.
Sensory Processing: Neurodivergent individuals, especially those on the autism spectrum, often have a more intense or sensitive perception of sensory stimuli. Sounds, light, and textures can be perceived more intensely, which may lead to overstimulation. When the brain is overwhelmed by the multitude of stimuli, the learner often retreats mentally: The learning situation is perceived as uncomfortable or even stressful. As a result, motivation to continue drops, and courses may be abandoned.
Attention and Concentration: Neurodivergent individuals with attention challenges often struggle to concentrate on monotonous or unengaging learning content. An online course that is too static or lengthy may not stimulate the brain sufficiently. Consequently, the learner may disengage mentally or simply abandon the task.
Impairment of Language Processing and Reading Comprehension: For individuals with neurodivergent profiles such as dyslexia, processing written materials can be particularly exhausting. It is often described that the text seems to "jump" in front of their eyes, or that letters and words blur and feel restless. Due to impaired reading comprehension, information may not be retained well, and learners need to exert significantly more effort to understand the same content. This is discouraging and often leads to them abandoning their learning. They benefit from having content presented visually or audibly, or from internalizing information through repeated interactions and practical exercises.
So you can see how differently and intensely neurodivergent learners respond to their environment and how the learning structure affects their well-being and performance. A supportive learning process can lead to significantly better learning outcomes if you intentionally address these aspects.
Gray Matter with Gray Areas
Online courses come with the possibility that you may not know what personalities lie behind your course participants. In blended learning, you do meet your learners in face-to-face events, but in purely e-learnings, they may remain completely anonymous. To gauge the extent to which neurodiversity is a topic for you as a course leader or creator, we have posed a few questions from your perspective:
1. How many neurodivergent people are there really?
The real number of neurodivergent individuals is difficult to estimate; however, it is likely very high depending on the region and diagnostic practice. Studies and experts suspect that a large portion of adults live with mild forms of ADHD, autism, or other neurodivergent traits without ever receiving a diagnosis. Particularly mild manifestations are rarely recognized, as they can be compensated in daily life or regarded as "personal quirks" in adulthood.
In Germany, for example, it is assumed that about 5 to 7% of the population may exhibit undetected ADHD symptoms, while milder autistic characteristics are even less documented. This indicates that many people could exhibit neurodivergent traits without being aware of it, making an inclusive learning environment even more important for all learners.
2. Are there also milder forms of neurodiversity that the individuals are unaware of but that affect their learning behavior?
Yes, neurodivergent characteristics exist on a broad spectrum: from strongly expressed forms to mild, nearly unnoticeable variants. Many people exhibit neurodivergent tendencies; however, these may not be sufficiently pronounced to warrant a diagnosis. Such individuals might experience slight concentration difficulties, a more sensitive perception, or challenges in organizing tasks without themselves or their environment recognizing these as neurodivergent.
These subtle traits can still influence learning behavior, such as quick fatigue with lengthy, text-based content or a preference for visual or interactive learning formats. Especially in adults, such neurodivergence often goes unnoticed since they may have developed individual strategies over the years to facilitate their learning process.
3. To what extent should I assume that there are neurodivergent learners in my courses?
You should generally assume that some of your learners exhibit neurodivergent characteristics. Inclusive learning environments benefit all learners and create a space where everyone can feel comfortable and thrive. Therefore, a flexible and diverse design of your learning content is a valuable measure to support those learners who may have slight neurodivergent traits. Even if only a few course participants are actually neurodivergent, all learners can benefit from the additional accessibility and the diverse presentation and interaction options.
4. What behaviors of my learners in an online course indicate that they may be neurodivergent?
There are certain behaviors that may indicate neurodivergent traits, even if they are not always directly attributable to them. Here are some signs to look for:
Irregular participation or participation in "bursts": Neurodivergent learners often exhibit fluctuating patterns of intensive engagement followed by withdrawal or reduced involvement.
Difficulties managing clear task structures: Learners may ask for additional explanations, appear overwhelmed, or struggle to organize complex tasks.
Sensitive reactions to certain representations: Sometimes neurodivergent individuals show strong preferences or aversions to certain visual or auditory stimuli, such as bright colors or sounds.
Excessive note-taking or avoidance of text-heavy learning content: If learners take extensive notes or actively seek out direct conversations about the learning content, it could be their way of coping with the challenges of processing text.
Note: These behaviors can also have other causes. Nevertheless, they can help you respond attentively and empathetically to the needs of diverse learners as a course leader.
How to Adapt Your Online Courses to Neurodivergent Learning Styles
Since studies indicate a high likelihood that some of your participants exhibit neurodivergent tendencies in varying degrees, it is worthwhile to design your courses to provide all learners with a pleasant and stress-free learning environment. With the following tips, you can create more inclusion in your e-learnings and ensure that all participants can successfully complete your courses.
If you want to first understand what e-learning actually means, read this foundational article.
1. Design your learning content in alternative formats
Offer your learning content in various alternative presentation formats: For instance, you could record a text as an audio or video file or present it in the form of graphics or PowerPoint presentations. A neurodivergent person might find it easier to concentrate on the content through a visual representation, while another learner may absorb the information better by listening to it.
In your blink.it learning platform, create separate learning units or chapters for the alternative formats. Inform your course participants that the learning material is substantively the same and is simply presented differently. Allow participants to choose the presentation format they prefer to complete the learning units, chapters, or even the entire course.
2. Structure course elements clearly and simply
Structured content divided into manageable sections or chapters significantly helps reduce cognitive load. Use clear titles and key terms for the learning unit headings to organize the content and make it easily understandable. When you add preview images to the individual Blinks on your blink.it learning platform, make sure they are visually calm to maintain focus on the headings for the learner.
Also, even for pure text Blinks, ensure clear structures such as bullet points and highlighted key terms or sentences.
3. Offer short chapters and many breaks
Neurodivergent learners often benefit from an individualized learning pace, which is why e-learning on a platform like blink.it is ideal for them. Offer your learners many short chapters instead of a few very long ones: This allows them more opportunities to take breaks or repeat a chapter.
You should also consider how much pressure you create for completing chapters or the entire course. In blink.it, you can set deadlines for when learning units or an entire course must be completed. Remember that some learners may not be as quick as others, so you could give them as much flexibility as possible in this regard.
4. Avoid sensory overload
Bright colors, fast animations, and loud background noises overwhelm far more people than you might think. If you want all your learners to be able to concentrate on the learning material, you should avoid anything distracting or unrestful in your materials. Instead, use a clear, neutral style in your course material, pleasant color tones, and a calm sound environment.
Especially in videos, ensure that the learning content is clearly in the foreground: Consider a video of yourself explaining a topic. Now imagine you are standing right next to a busy street and you also add background music during video editing. Few people would be able to concentrate on what you're saying, right? For neurodivergent individuals, this can go so far that they find your video "hardly bearable" and do not want to watch it. That makes them lost to you as learners.
5. Offer group work and direct conversations
Many neurodivergent learners benefit greatly from working in small groups or with a coach. If you offer blended learning, integrate group exercises and discussion rounds into your in-person events to encourage interaction. You also create opportunities for discreet questions in this way. Encourage your course participants to jot down their thoughts, as this deepens their learning significantly.
In your blink.it learning platform, there is a feedback section where you can discuss the learning content with your course participants: Motivate them to interact directly with each other by initiating conversations in each Blink and actively inviting questions or comments about the learning material. This fosters a sense of community and alleviates tension.
For a Diverse Learning Community
The success of your online courses increasingly depends on whether they consider the neurodiverse needs of all learners. By consciously creating your courses inclusively, you reach a much broader participant group and increase the effectiveness of your learning content. Our suggestions for course design help you make your course offerings accessible and appealing to all learning styles. This creates a learning environment that truly appeals to all participants and fosters positive feelings while learning.
We hope this article has provided you with some enlightening information and insights, and we wish you much success in creating inclusive online courses!
