UDL Tip of the Month

May 2025

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Neurodiversity and UDL: Strategies for Supporting All Brains

By Marc Thompson (CITL)

Illustration of a diverse crowd of human figures, each filled with colorful, uniquely patterned brain images, representing the concept of neurodiversity and the wide range of ways people think and process information.

University classrooms are diverse—not just in terms of students’ backgrounds and experiences, but also in the ways their brains take in, process, and express information. Neurodiversity is the idea that neurological differences like ADHD, autism, dyslexia, anxiety, and other cognitive variations are natural parts of human diversity. Instead of viewing these as deficits, the neurodiversity paradigm encourages educators to recognize and value different ways of thinking and learning.1

Universal Design for Learning (UDL) offers a proactive framework to foster inclusion by addressing learner variability from the start. This month’s UDL tip explores some ways to support neurodiverse learners through practical, discipline-specific strategies anchored in UDL principles. Here are five “Quick Win” UDL strategies to better support neurodiverse students, along with examples from a range of discipline areas.2

Quick Win 1: Offer Multiple Ways to Access Course Content

UDL Principle: Provide Multiple Means of Representation

Learners differ in how they perceive and process information. All learners, including neurodiverse learners, benefit when information is available in more than one format. This method of providing multiple ways to access course content supports varied cognitive processing styles and sensory preferences. For example, students with dyslexia may benefit from audio or visual materials, while students with autism may appreciate consistent formats and clear, written expectations in addition to spoken instructions.3

UDL Strategies (Quick Win 1)

  • Provide lecture materials in multiple formats—such as slide decks with speaker notes, transcripts for videos, or a text-based outline alongside recorded lectures.
  • Use visual supports such as flowcharts, infographics, and labeled diagrams to illustrate complex concepts.
  • For auditory learners or those who process language differently, consider offering narrated screencasts or podcast-style summaries.

Examples (Quick Win 1)

  • Chemistry: Supplement complex diagrams with narrated walkthroughs and plain-language explanations. Accompany written lab instructions with a short video demonstration and a printable checklist of steps.
  • Literature: Offer audio versions of texts alongside print and digital copies. Offer audiobook versions of assigned novels along with annotated digital texts.
  • Philosophy: Use visual concept maps to break down abstract ideas and show relationships between arguments.
  • History: Provide transcripts alongside video lectures on the causes of the Cold War. Provide both a timeline graphic and a narrative summary of historical events, allowing students to understand chronological sequences in multiple ways.
  • Mathematics: Provide a worked example and a video explanation in addition to formula sheets.
  • Physics: Share a visual simulation of a pendulum’s motion in addition to written, and any related mathematical, description.
  • Business: Supplement textbook chapters on marketing strategy with infographics and short podcasts.
Quick Win 2: Offer Choices to Increase Autonomy

UDL Principle: Provide Multiple Means of Action and Expression

Not all students express what they know in the same way. UDL encourages offering options for how learners demonstrate their knowledge and helping them plan and organize their work. These options can be especially helpful for allowing neurodiverse learners to leverage their strengths, while also reducing stress and increasing motivation.4

UDL Strategies (Quick Win 2)

  • Offer multiple deliverable options for assignments, such as a paper, a slide deck with audio narration, a video explanation, or a creative project like a podcast or infographic.
  • Allow alternatives to timed tests when appropriate, such as take-home exams or open-book assessments with time flexibility.
  • Use frequent, low-stakes formative assessments to build confidence and reduce pressure.

Examples (Quick Win 2)

  • Political Science: Let students choose between writing a policy brief, recording a video op-ed, or creating an infographic for a local issue.
  • Statistics: Break large assignments into smaller steps with scaffolded deadlines and optional peer feedback.
  • World Language Instruction: Allow oral exams, written reflections, or multimedia storytelling projects.
  • Education: Use rubrics that assess learning objectives across multiple formats (e.g., lesson plans, recorded microteaching, reflective journals).
  • Engineering: Provide templates or organizational tools to support project planning and time management. Allow teams to present project findings via a slide deck, poster, or prototype demo.
  • Sociology: Let students choose between writing a paper, recording a video presentation, or designing an infographic to analyze a social issue.
  • Psychology: Students may write a case study analysis or record an audio reflection with supporting evidence.
  • Art History: Permit written analysis or a narrated virtual gallery tour comparing art movements.
  • Public Health: Accept either a policy brief or a podcast-style interview with an expert on health disparities.
Quick Win 3: Develop Predictable, Supportive Course Structures

UDL Principle: Provide Multiple Means of Engagement

Ambiguity and unstructured tasks can increase cognitive load or anxiety. Some neurodiverse students also struggle with organizing ideas, managing time, or initiating tasks. At the same time, many neurodiverse students thrive in predictable environments with clear routines and expectations along with supportive tools that improve the learning experience for all students.5

UDL Strategies (Quick Win 3)

  • Use consistent weekly module formats in your LMS with clearly labeled sections: Overview, Objectives, Readings, Activities, and Assignments.
  • Include a checklist or visual roadmap at the start of each module to show what’s expected.
  • Be explicit about grading criteria with rubrics and examples of successful work.

Examples (Quick Win 3)

  • Philosophy: Post a weekly roadmap with due dates, reading summaries, and guiding questions.
  • Education: Use headings and icons consistently to distinguish activities, discussions, and assignments.
  • Mathematics: Create brief tutorial videos, each focused on one type of equation or theorem.
  • Chemistry: Break down lab reports into clear sections with templates (e.g., Objectives, Procedure, Results).
Quick Win 4: Reduce Cognitive and Sensory Load

UDL Principle: Provide Multiple Means of Engagement and Representation

Neurodiverse students—especially those with ADHD, autism, or anxiety—may experience heightened sensitivity to sensory input or difficulty filtering distractions. Others may become overwhelmed by complex layouts, dense text, or tasks that require multitasking without clear guidance. Simplifying course content layout, reducing visual noise, and breaking complex assignments into manageable steps can ease these burdens. These strategies don’t “water down” content—they help all learners access and interact with the same rigorous material through a clearer, more focused lens. In fact, all students benefit when the learning environment supports focus, clarity, and intentional pacing.6

UDL Strategies (Quick Win 4)

  • Use clean, uncluttered slide designs and course pages with clear headings and minimal distractions.
  • Break large assignments into smaller, scaffolded parts with individual due dates.
  • Provide quiet options for collaborative activities, like asynchronous discussion boards or written group reflections.
  • Avoid unnecessary animations or transitions that may distract from the main course content, unless they support the learning goal(s).
  • Include estimated time commitments for activities to help with planning and time management.

Examples (Quick Win 4)

  • Art: Instead of a loud, fast-paced critique session, students can upload work to a shared board and leave audio or written feedback for peers over a 48-hour window.
  • Computer Science: Provide long-term projects with milestone check-ins and template documents to reduce decision fatigue and cognitive overload.
  • Anthropology: Use collapsible sections in the LMS to group readings by theme and week.
  • Linguistics: Present recordings and transcriptions in a side-by-side format to avoid toggling.
  • Physics: Create a simplified version of data sets to focus students on specific trends before introducing full complexity.
Quick Win 5: Provide Scaffolds for Planning and Organization

UDL Principle: Provide Multiple Means of Action and Expression

Some neurodiverse students struggle with organizing ideas, managing time, or initiating tasks. Support tools can level the playing field. Executive functioning—skills involved in planning, organizing, prioritizing, and managing time—can be particularly challenging for neurodiverse students, especially those with ADHD or autism. These students often understand content well but sometimes struggle to initiate tasks or complete them in a structured, timely manner. UDL encourages educators to build in tools and prompts that support learners in managing their learning process. Scaffolds for planning and organization don’t give an unfair advantage—they remove unnecessary barriers and help all students become more self-directed, confident learners.7

UDL Strategies (Quick Win 5)

  • Provide templates, outlines, or graphic organizers to help students get started on assignments.
  • Offer planning checklists or timelines for major projects.
  • Use progress trackers or milestone deadlines to guide multi-week tasks.
  • Embed planning prompts within assignments (e.g., “What is your first step? What support might you need?”).
  • Offer optional planning consultations or peer-planning sessions in person or online.

Examples (Quick Win 5)

  • Nursing: Offer a clinical reflection template to guide analysis of patient interactions.
  • Computer Science: Use flowcharts and pseudocode as pre-coding activities.
  • Political Science: Provide timelines or mind-mapping tools to help plan policy analysis papers.
  • Environmental Studies: Share a checklist for components of a fieldwork report.
  • Theater: Offer a rehearsal planner template to track lines, cues, and personal notes.

Conclusion

At the end of the day, supporting neurodiverse learners isn’t about adding extra work—it’s about designing learning environments that recognize and celebrate the many ways students think, process, and express themselves. By incorporating even a few of these UDL-inspired strategies, you can create a more inclusive classroom that empowers all students to succeed, not in spite of their differences, but because of them. Small changes really do add up—and when we plan with learner variability in mind, everyone benefits.8

References

  1. Dwyer P. (2022). The Neurodiversity Approach(es): What Are They and What Do They Mean for Researchers? Human development, 66(2), 73–92. https://doi.org/10.1159/000523723
  2. CITL. (2024, September). Embracing Learner Variability. University of Illinois.
  3. CITL. (2023, December). UDL Principle 2: Multiple Means of Representation. University of Illinois.
  4. CITL. (2024, January). UDL Principle 3: Multiple Means of Action and Expression. University of Illinois.
  5. CITL. (2024, November). "Clear Goals, Multiple Means". University of Illinois.
  6. CITL. (2024, February). 3 Strategies for Removing Threats and Barriers. University of Illinois.
  7. CITL. (2024, December). Building Bridges: UDL and Instructional Scaffolding. University of Illinois.
  8. CITL. (2024, March). Fostering Expert Learners. University of Illinois.

Image Credit: MissLunaRose12, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons. Retrieved 4-23-2025.

Contact Information

If you’re looking to enhance the accessibility and inclusivity of your course design, CITL's Universal Design for Learning (UDL) Team is here to help! You can reach us at CITL-UDLTeam@illinois.edu.