Five sentence summary Refusing to allow note cards, requiring speeches not be recorded, forcing someone to stand behind a podium, etc. can all make communication more difficult for ADHD folks, and not because we're lazy. Rather than exclude and present more barriers to disabled folks, we need to build in options and be more flexible and understanding when it comes to differences in communication forms and needs. Many standards used to judge what makes an effective presentation are inherently discriminatory and exclude disabled folks. The choices we make about public speaking, whether we're creating a rubric for undergraduate students or when we're organizing a session for an academic conference, can make communication more difficult for ADHD folks. Intentional or not, these choices often create or amplify existing barriers for ADHD presenters and audience members. Choices you can make to increase accessibility Asking students to maintain eye contact is painful for autistic folks. It can literally be painful. ADHD folks may also find it uncomfortable. We are known to have trouble using eye contact to direct our attention and have trouble processing eye contact in others. Consider not assessing or judging a person for their ability to make and maintain eye contact, as doing so creates barriers for folks with certain disabilities, including ADHD. Judging whether a person is standing still at a podium is definitely unfair to those with ADHD. We focus and think better when we are allowed to fidget. Restricting our movement and forcing us to stay still behind a table or in a single spot is not going to help us and it is not going to work. Help students find ways to fidget that are less distracting to others. There are fidgets designed for adults that are less noisy, such as rings that look like everyday jewelry but allow repetitive movement. You can also use tools such as a desk or podium so that the student can bounce their knee the entire talk and no one will notice because no one can see. Allow note cards or an outline to help ADHD folks focus. Our brains are creative and we make a lot of connections, which can make following a singular line of thought very hard. We also do better when we receive the same information in a multisensory environment (assistive reading software), meaning we need text and auditory inputs to retain the same information someone without ADHD absorbs with only one input mode. Looking down at a note card while reading the same information out loud crystalizes it and sharpens our focus. Along these same lines, rethink how you allocate time for questions at the end of a talk. Give the speakers the option to request all questions are written down or typed up. Hearing and reading questions from the audience simultaneously reduces our processing time, freeing up more space for us to actually consider the question and then answer it. This can be particularly crucial when questions have multiple parts or sub-questions. Consider not doing a typical question and answer section and have the audience instead email questions or post them online (discussed further in the next section). Immediate audience participation does not equal an engaged audience Be careful grading students or judging audience members based on the questions they are able to come up with after others speak. I understand we all want to ensure our audience is attentive and respectful to other speakers, but I rarely ask questions after a talk at professional conferences, and it has nothing to do with my intelligence or my interest in the topic. I never ask questions because I'm still catching up and processing. I'm at least a slide or two behind, especially if they aren't provided in advance, and I'm organizing my thoughts when everyone else in the audience is wrapping theirs up and moving on to the next talk. Another person may have an auditory processing disorder, and they need more time to read through a transcript of the talk that their phone generated. An autistic student may want to check with their classmates that they understood the nonverbal cues embedded within the talk. Provide students the option to ask questions in an online forum later, to email one another, or chat about all of the presentations in the next class even. These same adjustments can be made for conferences and seminars, as faculty with ADHD and others will also likely benefit from more accessible modes of communication. Some audience members will do perfectly well with a standard question and answer session after the talk, but there are countless others who never felt comfortable asking questions in those minutes and it wasn't because they weren't listening or seriously interested. "But then they'll never learn public speaking!" argument. Correct, they might never learn your idea of "public speaking." Why does this matter? If I know I do poorly giving impromptu speeches but am fine giving recorded talks, that's what I am going to choose, whether I am 19 or 90 years old. If walking around a classroom and talking is how I can effectively think and communicate my ideas, I am not going to force myself to lecture behind a desk. There are many modes of communication and ways to give a presentation. Ultimately, it's about sharing and connecting with others. If I find that I can convey information better when I am allowed to simultaneously write on a white board, that will be what I choose to do in the future. As long as I am delivering the necessary information and doing so clearly, who cares if I am the only person at a conference who requests a room with a white board? Not me. Work with students to brainstorm ways that might be a little out of the box but that still allow them to grow as students learning and practicing communication.
The more options you give and the more flexibility you build in, the more accessible the conference, class, assignment, or workshop will be. Building in flexibility right from the beginning allows folks to decide what works best for them. Folks with ADHD are horrendous at following arbitrary rules. We don't follow them. Nonsense restrictions that have no true meaning aren't going to work for us, whether we're in a classroom, a collaborator meeting, or at a political rally. Instead, work with students to identify adjustments that help them communicate better. Don't just stick to public speaking as you were taught it, with its colonial, capitalist, and antiquated social norms. Chances are the presentations will be much more interesting and dynamic if you build in flexibility and consider less traditional forms of presenting! The "This doesn't prepare them for the real world!" argument. The truth is, some students will never give public presentations. They won’t take those jobs. Even if they do take those jobs, give presentations, and it stresses them out incredibly, why would you want that? Why would you knowingly want to cause someone so much stress? "I'm just preparing them for the real world!" No, you're not. You're forcing disabled students to fit the mold rather than working with them to ensure their success. Check your ego and your privilege. Plus, the world is changing. There are more and more confident, outspoken, and authentic folks with ADHD, autism, anxiety, sensory processing disorder, and other brain-based differences and disabilities. We're standing up to the bullies, questioning the rules, and working for more inclusion. I would consider joining us because you might find it's a kinder place. Key points:
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