2024 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Board 419: Untangling 'Neurodiversity' and 'Neurodivergence': Implications for Research Practice in Engineering and STEM Contexts

Presented at NSF Grantees Poster Session

With growing awareness of and interest in neurodiversity and neurodivergence among members of the general public and within academia, there has been a surge in scholarly publications that make use of this terminology. This paper undertakes a critical review and exploration of the current uses of 'neurodiversity' and 'neurodivergence,' looking to untangle these terms and discuss their implications in research and practice. As engineering education researchers who have personal experiences with ADHD, anxiety, and/or dyslexia, we are particularly interested in the implications of language usage in relation to neurodiversity research within the STEM context. Drawing on a review of recent literature, we explore the power of language to shape understandings of neurodiversity in an emerging field of study. Specifically, we aim to unpack the ways in which neurodiversity/neurodivergence language may either challenge normative assumptions about neurocognitive function or further reinforce marginalizing and deficit-based assumptions about individuals with neurodiversity-related diagnoses. Finally, this paper explores the implications for engineering and STEM research contexts. We argue that researchers’ language usage in relation to neurodiversity has the potential to either reinforce the overarching norms embedded in STEM academic cultures by reinforcing rigid understandings of “normality,” or, alternatively, to deconstruct these norms to make way for a more inclusive understanding of cognitive diversity.

Authors

Ms. Connie Syharat http://orcid.org/0000-0002-7913-863X University of Connecticut [biography]

Connie Syharat is a Ph.D. student and Research Assistant at the University of Connecticut as a part of two neurodiversity-centered NSF-funded projects, Revolutionizing Engineering Departments (NSF:RED) "Beyond Accommodation: Leveraging Neurodiversity for Engineering Innovation" and Innovations in Graduate Education (NSF:IGE) “Encouraging the Participation of Neurodiverse Students in STEM Graduate Programs to Radically Enhance the Creativity of the Professional Workforce". As a graduate researcher, she is conducting qualitative research related to the experiences of neurodiverse graduate students in STEM fields. Previously, she spent eight years as a K-12 teacher in Connecticut, where she maintained a focus on providing a varied learning environment and differentiated instruction for all types of learners. She is currently pursuing a doctoral degree in Engineering Education in UConn's College of Engineering.
Dr. Alexandra Hain University of Connecticut [biography]

Alexandra Hain is an Assistant Professor at the University of Connecticut in structural engineering. She received her PhD in Structural Engineering in 2019 from the University of Connecticut. In additon to her work in her technical area, she focuses on research related to neurodiversity in engineering education and workforce development for the Navy.
Prof. Arash Esmaili Zaghi P.E. http://orcid.org/0000-0003-2246-2911 University of Connecticut [biography]

Arash E. Zaghi is a Professor in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of Connecticut. In 2009, he received his PhD in Civil Engineering from the University of Nevada, Reno. After he was diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) at age 33, he began engineering education research aimed at highlighting the importance of neurodiversity for the creativity of our nation’s engineering workforce by promoting a fundamentally strength-based perspective toward diversity. He started his engineering education research endeavor through an NSF RIGEE grant in 2014. The promising findings of this research and the encouraging feedback of the student community motivated him to pursue this line of research in his NSF CAREER award in 2017. Since then, he has built a coalition within the university to expand this work through multiple NSF-funded research grants including IUSE/PFE: RED titled “Innovation Beyond Accommodation: Leveraging Neurodiversity for Engineering Innovation”. Because of the importance of neurodiversity at all levels of education, he expanded his work to graduate STEM education through an NSF IGE grant. In addition, he recently received his Mid-CAREER award through which, in a radically novel approach, he will take on ambitious, transdisciplinary research integrating artificial intelligence, neuroscience, and education research to advance a personalized tool to enhance the participation of middle-school students with dyslexia in STEM disciplines. His efforts on promoting neurodiversity in engineering has been twice recognized by Prism Magazine of the American Society of Engineering Education.

Download paper (1.85 MB)

Are you a researcher? Would you like to cite this paper? Visit the ASEE document repository at peer.asee.org for more tools and easy citations.

» Download paper

« View session