2026 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

This Work in progress (WIP) describes the process and preliminary results of a systematic scoping literature review on the knowledge of neurodivergent student disclosure to educators and staff. Despite calls to increase the participation of marginalized engineering students, neurodiverse students remain both underrepresented and underserved in engineering. Typical support for neurodiverse students often relies on the use of accommodation, which requires self-advocacy and disclosure. There is a growing emphasis on the development of inclusive and supportive learning environments; however, little is known about unique factors or environments which encourage healthy disclosure in engineering programs. This study presents a systematic scoping review of how neurodivergent students in engineering navigate disclosure using Peters et al.’s methodological framework and following PRISMA protocol. This systematic scoping review parsed literature available in English language databases. The database search was grounded in four key inclusion criteria: 1) student disclosure or involvement that would imply disclosure, 2) engineering specific findings, 3) a focus on neurodivergent students or neurodivergent student experiences, and 4) a setting in higher education. The initial search yielded 347 results. After removing duplicates, 342 results remained. Remaining publications were put through a three-stage screening process (abstract, full-article skim, full-reading). Following the screening process, four articles remained. As this initial search yielded only four articles, extensive data mapping and analysis was not conducted as a large gap surrounding neurodivergent experience of disclosure to educators was made evident. Future work will expand the scope of this study by including considering broader STEM fields more explicitly, related constructs that imply disclosure (e.g., belonging, and community), or expanding to include individuals with broader forms of invisible disabilities.