I have the feeling (certainly subjective and maybe wrong) that neurodiverse students like my teaching style and many students (ND+NT) tell me they like how I structure and explain things.
Yet, I often don't get what's happening and I struggle designing lessons NT-friendly. That's why it's often difficult and I don't know how to deal with some students.
I think we make great teachers, even for NT students, because we're less likely to make assumptions about students. So we teach in an accessible and enthusiastic (maybe too enthusiastic 😆) way, and, by not jumping to conclusions about students, we can be more sympathetic than an NT teacher.
I think as long as you foster a trusting environment where students feel able to talk to you, then this can overcome some limitations. There's unlikely to be a workaround to missing all subtleties, but what you can offer outweighs the negatives.
I sympathise. I'm a geriatric autistic (apparently) and I still feel like this. My only option is to take difficult interactions at my own pace and not try to formulate a stock response.
Basically that's it: I ask for some time to think about it. This can vary from just a few moments to "I'll get back to you on this". But, of course, sometimes this isn't possible.
Not every interaction is going to be a success, you can only do your best. Creating a sense that you both see each other as human beings might give you a little more space to respond. What's most important isn't their patience, but yours. Allowing them to get their question right.
I’m guilty of this too. I worry that everyone knows what I know, so I hold back out of fear of seeming condescending. The trap of making assumptions is a minefield. 😱
You can choose to believe it whatever others say. Irrespective of when the modern concept of autism arose, autistic people have always existed. And some element of these characters recognised the “outsider”.
It seems like Mastodon is losing its mindshare to #Bluesky among many academics.
I can't help but think this has to do with the self-imposed limitations of Mastdon — lack of quotes, ordered timeline, etc. Makes it less interesting to use, for no real advantage.
Sad, because the underlying decentralization is much more robust.
Since I am planning to delete my Twitter account soon, I am slowly deleting every post I made manually, so I can see what I posted (I also do not trust that they will delete the posts if I delete the account). A large portion of my replies are congratulating people on things like their newly published paper, graduating, getting a grant, etc. These kind of posts are what I miss about Twitter, and I hope more people come and post their successes on Mastodon. #AcademicChatter