Presenter outlines neurodiversity, classroom and home strategies for neurodivergent students

Erin Carlson, a community mental-health clinician with Oswego and Plainfield Wellness, described neurodiversity and practical classroom and home strategies for supporting neurodivergent children and teenagers during a public presentation (date and venue not specified).

Carlson opened by defining neurodiversity as the idea that people “experience and interact with the world around them in many different ways,” and she emphasized that neurological differences should not automatically be viewed as deficits. She said much of her clinical caseload—“about 85 to 90 percent,” she estimated—consists of neurodivergent clients and used examples from her family to illustrate variability in strengths and challenges.

Why it matters: Carlson argued that recognizing neurodiversity changes how parents and schools approach behavior and learning. She said brain differences affect attention, sensory processing and emotion regulation, which in turn shape classroom performance, social interactions and the…