During the Special Needs course hosted at JUMP, a delegation from Romania joined us to explore neurodivergence, inclusion and different European approaches to Special Educational Needs. The most interesting part was not only the theory, but the comparison between school cultures, teacher expectations and real classroom life: that magical place where we ask teachers to develop creativity, critical thinking, emotional intelligence and flexibility, while also keeping twenty-five students quiet, measurable, test-ready and preferably not hanging from the ceiling.
This contradiction is central. We want students prepared for a flexible world, but we often educate them through a rigid model. Inclusion invites us to ask a different question: not “How do we keep everyone in line?”, but “How do we design learning so that different minds can participate?”
The traditional school model still carries traces of an industrial logic: bells, enclosed spaces, standardised tasks, marks, tests and performance goals. Historically, this made sense: mass education had to provide literacy, basic discipline and shared knowledge to large populations. But today the world is no longer a quiet factory line. Information changes every day. Artificial intelligence, digital work, entrepreneurship and constant innovation require initiative, adaptability and emotional competence.
This is where neurodivergence changes the conversation. A diagnosis can be useful, but it should not become the whole identity of the student. ADHD, autism, giftedness and sensory sensitivity can involve real difficulties, but also strengths: creativity, pattern recognition, intensity, deep focus, original thinking and unusual problem-solving. The neurodiversity approach reminds us to consider both individual needs and environmental barriers, rather than reducing every difference to pathology.
During the course, we worked with one key sentence: regulation is not obedience. A quiet student is not always regulated. A moving student is not always misbehaving. Avoiding eye contact may reduce overload. Interrupting may come from impulsivity or fear of forgetting. Leaving the group may be an attempt to prevent escalation. If behaviour is communication, the teacher’s question changes from “How do I stop this?” to “What support is needed?”
To make this practical, we designed an outdoor lesson using only a tarp, paper, tape and markers. We then drew a regulation thermometer: green meant “I can learn”, yellow meant “I am activated or confused”, and red meant “I am overwhelmed”. Emotional states were represented through images: sunny, clouds, fog, storm, volcano, frozen lake, open pinecone, closed pinecone. This allowed students to express emotions without being forced into public confession.
We also used mindful walking: noticing what we see, hear and feel while moving outdoors. This is important because mindfulness should not mean “sit still and become a statue”. For some students, especially those with ADHD or sensory differences, movement is not the enemy of attention; it is the door to attention.
Finally, we asked three simple questions: What can I do? What can people do? What can the environment do? This is the heart of inclusion. The student can learn strategies, but peers, teachers and the environment must also change. Universal Design for Learning supports this by offering multiple ways to access information, engage with learning and express understanding. SEL frameworks similarly place self-awareness, self-management and relationship skills at the centre of development.
Inclusion is not lowering standards. It is removing unnecessary barriers. It is not asking every student to cross the same bridge, but designing enough bridges for everyone to reach learning, dignity and belonging.
Maybe the future of education will not begin with louder bells, stricter marks or longer tests. Maybe it begins with a tarp, a paper storm cloud, a closed pinecone, and a teacher brave enough to ask: “What would make participation possible?”
Bibliography
CAST. (2024). Universal Design for Learning Guidelines 3.0.
CASEL. (n.d.). What is the CASEL Framework?
Council of Europe. (2026). Thematic resource on non-formal education.
Dwyer, P. (2022). The neurodiversity approach(es): What are they and what do they mean for researchers?
European Agency for Special Needs and Inclusive Education. (2022). Agency position on inclusive education systems.
