David's Note: I am writing this as someone who has been a tutor and someone on the spectrum. Beyond the introduction, I will focus on how we can help students through tutoring.
Introduction
Neurodivergence is a personal thing for me as a tutor, writer, and someone with high-functioning autism with some features of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. When I became an educator almost twelve years ago, one of the barriers that I faced was my undiagnosed neurodivergence. As someone on the broad spectrum of autism without knowing until I was well into adulthood, there was always something missing. I had to learn how to approach the students who needed my help the most—those who were neurodivergent. I want to reach out to those who are autistic and have attention deficit hyperactivity disorder because I can understand and empathize that each student is different but unique in a good way. The approach is never the same with autism and ADHD, and every student will have their challenges. Those differences make me want to connect through understanding, empathy, and advocacy in my tutoring.
As a tutor who identifies as neurodivergent, there are ways that I can help my students in a different way than a neurotypical person. I can empathize and understand when a student has a meltdown, as I have had plenty over my life. I can be a role model, change my tutoring style to fit students' needs based on their struggles and turn them into strengths. I can also advocate for students struggling with neurodivergence and promote neurodiversity in education. As a tutor, I can help those like me, and I take great pride in connecting with neurodivergent students on the online platform that I tutor on—Learner.
I have always approached this topic personally to support our neurotypical and neurodivergent students best. My experiences over the years have helped me become a better tutor and find new and innovative ways to connect with my students. Together, we can normalize neurodiversity. It will not happen overnight, but the more neurodivergent people discuss in the context of education, the more it is one way to help people understand.
Understanding Neurodivergent Tutors
Symptoms and strengths
Neurodivergent tutors can recognize the symptoms and strengths that might present themselves in students. As tutors, it is not our job to diagnose students—that is never the way to approach someone with neurodivergent behaviors. There is a whole spectrum of students that are neurodivergent. No two cases will present themselves the same. As tutors, we can observe the behaviors and decide if we should let their parents know that their students exhibit neurodivergent symptoms like overstimulation or sensory overload. That is one of the hardest things—there is a real stigma among parents who are not ready or willing to accept that their child might need different attention and accommodations. Those students who struggle with neurodivergent behaviors look at themselves as outsiders dealing with the stigma and negative connotations that can or will arise. It can also cause stigma among students that if they become diagnosed, friends and family may look at them differently.
Many tutors working with neurodivergent students can provide a unique perspective into their minds. We can adjust to their experiences and how behavioral patterns present to me, whether they are open about their diagnosis or undiagnosed. Neurodivergent tutors can adapt their student's approach by relating personally to the significance of boundaries, dealing with meltdowns, explaining how masking can hurt or help to study, and finding ideas for staying focused when their students are overwhelmed by the noises and sounds around them or if they get overstimulated.
Commonalities and Differences between ADHD and Autism
There are some commonalities and differences among neurodivergent students, which are essential to note. Some commonalities between autism and ADHD include difficulties in understanding social situations or interactions and where they stand with neurotypical people. Autism and ADHD also share sensory overload, trouble maintaining focus, and trouble organizing tasks.
However, the differences are also noticeable. Those with autism tend to struggle more with social communication and repetitive behaviors, but those with ADHD tend to struggle more with hyperactivity and inattention. There is also the spectrum of autism that can produce more manifestations of symptoms, and as stated before, no two people exhibit the same experiences. Those who have ADHD tend to require more help in executive functioning and activity regulation. Each of these is important to understand because the complexity of neurodivergence means that tutors can better serve their students who need help.
Innovative Teaching Methods
Hyper-focused One on One Sessions
Neurodivergent tutors can offer many innovative ways to tutor their students. One way is through hyper-focused one-on-one sessions with students. Tutors can leverage that hyper-focus in small bursts in a session, and when that student’s focus is less effective, they can pull back. Tutors can provide an in-depth structure for students but also know when to leverage that hyper-focus in neurodivergent students in short windows.
Sensory-Friendly Environments
One important thing that all tutors can provide their neurodivergent students is a sensory-friendly environment where they can perform at their best during online tutoring sessions. We can encourage students to establish quiet places to study and work in sessions without intense sensory overload. That can include encouraging students to turn off their phones and lower the brightness on their screens, which can lead to distractions for those students with ADHD.
Executive Functioning Support
One of the things that autistic tutors can excel in is executive functioning skills—organizational skills, time management, and staying on task with schedules can benefit our students and encourage them to focus on a task-oriented process. Neurodivergent tutors can help students who struggle with this (autism is a spectrum, after all) by assisting them in creating calendars, planners, checklists for assignments, and other tools they can use to be successful. Tutors can also help them explore when things do not go according to plan (which can lead to negative thoughts, meltdowns, or more) and how to adjust to those situations due to these tutors having experienced these issues.
Engaging and interactive lessons
Customized Learning Plans
One upside of online tutoring is customizing lessons for each student. As a tutor at Learner, I can customize my lessons for all my students. That student-centered approach can be especially advantageous to students with autism and ADHD by adjusting to their needs in session and tutoring them to their different goals. When a tutor customizes their approach to their learning needs, it adds flexibility, which is vital for neurodivergent students.
Strength-based Approach to Learning
Strengths and weaknesses in living with both ADHD and autism are something that we need to consider with neurodivergence and approaching students. Tutors help students address areas of difficulty by providing a solid foundation to boost their confidence or create a positive, strength-based, focused learning environment. That is always the goal for all educators, but beyond that, the strength-based approach to learning can help me focus on the student's neurodivergent strengths and not on any weaknesses—perceived or otherwise. By supporting our students and their strengths instead of a weakness, we can help them grow confidently into lifelong learners.
High Energy and Enthusiasm
Keeping students motivated
Motivating students online can be challenging for any student/tutor relationship but very challenging for a neurodivergent student. Getting to know students and their interests is one way to motivate them, but we can also use other methods. Listening to music while working can benefit students, and in session, we can listen to music together or watch a quick video. Tutors can encourage students to reward themselves by going out for ice cream after a good session or watching their favorite TikTok star as a reward for their hard work. Distractions after intense tutoring can prevent meltdowns and let my students know that life is not always about the best grade possible.
Problem-Solving Skills
Adapting lessons to meet the needs of my neurodivergent students can mean on-the-spot problem-solving if a student struggles with focusing on a writing assignment in class due to overstimulation or overwhelming noises. Neurodivergent tutors can encourage the student to practice breaking an essay into smaller parts (chunking), use noise-canceling headphones, or focus on the keywords of the reading assignment to focus on in that essay. Above all, we can encourage them to practice self-compassion daily and be hard on themselves.
Neurodivergent students struggle so much in social situations, masking to cover not understanding social situations (but wanting to), and are the hardest on themselves. Tutors should encourage them to be okay with being overwhelmed and go at their own pace. Students who struggle to understand themselves in these areas do not know how to deal with being hard on themselves, especially their self-compassion.
Strengths of Tutors with Autism
A Detail Orientation and Focus
In sessions with my neurodivergent students, I emphasize ways that they can learn to be structured and organized in lessons. Suppose I am tutoring a student in essay writing. In that case, I can explain the importance of creating a graphic organizer to serve as a place to put their ideas in a structured organization way and start a rough draft. Taking time between writing drafts and trusting the writing process (giving them time to revise) are essential parts of how we learn to write—and encourage them that they can write. Many of my neurodivergent students, especially those with ADHD, who could be working on five different things at once, feel they will never complete any of them. It can be challenging when I encourage structure and empathy. Also, having patience for any tutor is important, and knowing their limits and your own is important to help that bond that one-on-one tutoring allows.
Passion for Subjects
I know it is universal in the tutoring world, but I have spent my life diving into topics ranging from creative writing to ancient world history. I have dove into the depths of literature across the ages and read books my whole life. Those on the spectrum can have a deep passion for what they learn because it is a passion (education, for me). I can share that with my students by being enthusiastic in every session to explore the depths of what knowledge has to offer. I can also inspire all my students, especially my neurodivergent students, to pursue their particular interests.
I had the opportunity at Learner to tutor a neurodivergent student, and she was a good writer. She had a teacher who decided her mission was to make my students feel bad about her writing. It took a while, but I found that she was passionate about mental health advocacy and psychology—a shared interest and so I was able to encourage her to focus on writing (she has ADHD) to her interests. She found her previous love for writing because we combined it with her passion. By the end of the year, her overall grades improved, and she wrote a fantastic essay for her college admissions. One thing I have learned is that my passions as a neurodivergent human being help me stay focused on tasks, and tutoring is one of those passions.
Challenges Faced by Neurodivergent Tutors
Navigating Misconceptions about Neurodiversity
One of the challenges facing neurodivergent tutors is trying to break through and navigate the misconceptions. One of the most challenging is the idea that there is a one-size-fits-all solution to neurodivergence. Every student can face different challenges as a high-functioning autistic person to those who are nonverbal. I have been told my whole life that I am just being dramatic. As adults, we do not have meltdowns or feel overwhelmed by noises because that is not normal—it is for me—and I experience that often.
I also face the same stereotypes and stigma that surround neurodivergence, the idea that we are less capable or intelligent and that we can be hard to work with because our behaviors often deviate from what is considered normal. Educators and adults perceive many neurodivergent students as having behavioral issues or as disruptive students in class—when, in reality, they need specific support or accommodations and get overwhelmed because they seem like troublemakers.
The truth is that the best way to illuminate these stereotypes and misconceptions is through advocacy. As a tutor, I work with students from all walks of life, and neurodivergence is one of them. Many educators have not experienced or understood that when a neurodivergent student’s needs are not met, it can lead to shutting down (or meltdowns, anxiety, or more). I can share with my colleagues that we have to move a one-size-fits-all approach to education, and as one student who fell through the cracks because I was somewhat “normal,” albeit a socially awkward teen, my diagnosis was not until my 30s. Educating my fellow educators on what to look for in a student without diagnosing them is a challenge but something that comes up in education.
Conclusion
Neurodivergent tutors bring a unique perspective into education, one of experience, empathy, and understanding. I bring into tutoring my personal experience, but many educators have faced struggles with neurodivergence students. There is so much value in having diverse perspectives in education, from the neurotypical to the neurodivergent tutor—it is all important as we look at ways we can innovate the online educational world and even in the classroom. As a neurodivergent educator, I will say that we need more awareness and support from the community as this issue does not get enough attention. Understanding is a great start, but we can also continue to change the way we approach education and accommodate all students.
About the author
My Quote
“I am a tutor with over a decade of experience in all things ELA—creative writing, literature, essay writing, grammar, and reading comprehension. I also have a tutoring background in social studies. I have a Master of Arts in Creative Writing and English and tutor 6th grade to post-graduate level students.”
My Tutoring Style
I am enthusiastic and student-centered about the topics I teach my students. As someone with high-functioning autism, I understand the need to adapt to every student and that all students have a different approach to success. I like to get to know my students. I ask them leading open-ended questions to ensure we are on the same page and stay on topic. I want my students to leave each session with the knowledge they sought when they came in and learn a few things before leaving. The success of each of my students means the world to me.
David’s Biography and Areas of Expertise in Writing
I have been tutoring since 2012. I started as a private tutor, primarily focusing on ELA subjects, specifically middle and high school essay writing, college essay writing, reading comprehension, and grammar. As an undergraduate, I minored in journalism and political science and focused heavily on literature and history, so I expanded to those areas. When I began pursuing my MA, I started a company, Skye Raven Writing Services, where I tutored students, ghostwrote nonfiction work, and provided editing services. Eventually, I got an MA in Creative Writing to teach creative writing and pursued my MFA to focus on my speculative fiction writing and focus on education. My hobbies include traveling worldwide, reading all genres of literature, hiking, and chasing my dream as a dystopian fantasy fiction writer.
As a professional writer, I can write about any topic. For about five years, I wrote blog posts for a mental health blog that created and had a couple of different podcasts over the years. I am most comfortable writing in speculative fiction writing, mental health, and education (with a focus on tutoring, anything ELA, and social studies). I have honed my skills as a professional writer writing about topics, and I feel good editing work (I could be better at editing my writing projects). I have experience as a writing coach for the last five years, and I have helped writers successfully publish their work—so I have an intricate understanding of self-publishing and publishing traditional methods.
I was diagnosed with Bipolar 1 disorder when I was twenty-two, and later, in my 30s’, I was diagnosed as high-functioning autistic and ADHD. I have felt that one of the areas that has helped me in life is working with neurodivergent students because I can connect with them on different levels as a neurodivergent tutor. I feel very strongly about connecting with those individuals like myself in education,
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