A rapid review of supports for neurodivergent students in higher education. Implications for research and practice

McDowall, Almuth and Kiseleva, Meg (2024) A rapid review of supports for neurodivergent students in higher education. Implications for research and practice. Neurodiversity , ISSN 2754-6330. (In Press)

Abstract

Efforts to make university education more inclusive have recently increased their focus on support for students with neurodivergent conditions including Autism or Dyslexia. Several practice guidelines have been published. Data tells us that neurodivergent (ND) students are more likely to drop out of higher education. We focused our definition on commonly researched conditions such as autism and dyslexia rather than a wider focus which also comprises mental health and transient conditions and recognise the limitations of doing so. We think that university environments, structures and processes might not be right to meet the needs of such students. This rapid review (a systematic way of locating and assessing literature in a specific timeframe) assessed what published literature tells us regarding adjustments and support in higher education for ND students. Through a systematic process we looked at studies summarised in nine existing reviews to consider the quality of evidence and priorities for research and practice. We found the evidence to be US-centric and sample sizes small. We synthesized evidence for (a) examination adjustments such as extra time, (b) whether clarity of instruction makes a difference, (c) focus on learning strategies, (d) technology-based interventions, (e) psychological supports, (f) mentoring and coaching, (g) comprehensive support programmes for example bringing groups of students together over a long time (h) transition into university and (i) transition into employment. Most studies focused on specific conditions such as Autism rather than taking a comprehensive approach. The evidence is overall modest and more focused on skills and learning, rather than educational outcomes (e.g. getting a good degree) and life outcomes such as successful transition into work. We suggest that future research needs to concentrate more on neuroinclusion at the level of the entire education institution, in curriculum design and transition into work and actively involve learners.

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