We are a group of RCA students from Singapore, China, Germany and the United Kingdom. We first approached the project by reflecting on our different experiences within the education system. Some recollections within the group, from our time at school include being distracted in class, being told to read faster, not paying attention to teachers, having our heads in the clouds, or being picked last for sports. Although, each are individual and distinct experiences, we recognise these as signs of neurodivergence and became increasingly interested in how this was recognised and responded to in different school environments.
During initial conversations, we discovered considerable gaps in how different countries created awareness and cared for neurodiversity in the educational system and it motivated us to seek change in this field. Whilst support for dyslexic students have risen with rightful campaign, changes to work have left teachers with less support.
We began to consider if neurodiverse students were not receiving sufficient support for their different abilities, what about the teachers tasked to deliver it? Who was caring for the carers? Teachers, who could also be neurodivergent, have been overlooked in many cases. Much of the work of care is dependent on the carer: teaching staff and they have been offered enough support for this in many cases. We plan to prepare a series of short films which highlight various struggles that neurodivergent teachers and students face in classrooms every day and hope theses will create communities of support amongst teachers, parents, and other support staff within a school community.