Almuth is Professor of Organisational Psychology at Birkbeck University of London in the School of Psychological Sciences. She is a Fellow of the International Society for Coaching Psychology and a practicing (chartered and registered) psychologist working with the private, public and third sector, delivering bespoke assignments, often at senior levels.
Almuth strongly believes that research needs to speak to organisations directly to have impact and contemporary relevance. For example, her recent research in co-production with Neurodiversity in Business (NiB) has resulted in accessible guidance for business stakeholders. During that project, Almuth and her colleagues found that including more individuals on the neurodiversity should entail increased attention to wellbeing and psychological safety and recognise the cognitive, sensory or relational challenges experienced by neurodivergent peers and colleagues. (You can read more here: https://neurodiversityinbusiness.org/research/).
Moreover, Almuth has recently co-authored Neurodiversity Coaching: A Psychological Approach to Supporting Neurodivergent Talent and Career Potential (Coaching Psychology) which sets out to support existing coaching practitioners, managers and community leaders to understand the essentials of neurodivergence, a term which encompasses ADHD, autism, dyslexia, dyspraxia and Tourette Syndrome, and how these diagnoses require specific coaching approaches to support individuals to thrive at work. She has also published a systematic review on how to support neurodivergent students in higher education (which can be read here: Almuth's rapid systematic review)
As members of the SPRINT project are undertaking research into neurodiversity, we were keen for Almuth to share her insights in this special journal club session which was also opened for students and staff of the School of Sport, Exercise and Rehabilitation Sciences.
What did we learn?
Almuth’s presentation started with an of overview of language and terminology in which Almuth presented neurodiversity as a word that focuses on demonstrating a spectrum of human function in variation rather than limits. That means neurodiverse individuals have a lot of strengths that, in a world not adjusted and attuned to neurodiversity, are often overlooked or not enough acknowledged.
There is much scope for developing more inclusive practices to support neurodiversity in education settings, as a lot of neurodivergent students drop out (often even before getting to university stage). Yet, the neurodivergent community has been increasingly self-advocating for their needs which has helped to grow awareness around challenges and inclusion. As a result, research seems to focus more on how neurodivergents individually function rather than emphasizing their diagnoses.
According to Almuth, coaching strategies that help people to be themselves, increase their self-esteem and manage mental health challenges can be helpful in developing more inclusive educational spaces. For example, helping people to help themselves, work with their strengths and learning about their executive functioning and how to learn/work at their best can be beneficial both to educators and neurodivergent students alike. Hence, coaching strategies might make it easier to celebrate and develop self-awareness of one’s strengths, understanding one’s impact on others and support individuals through challenges they might encounter.
What can we do and what should be done?
Rounding off the presentation, Almuth presented us with great recommendations, such as:
Showing curiosity and educating ourselves and asking questions about neurodiversity and neurodiverse functioning
Unpick truth from inferences
Observe but don’t assume
Asking students: when you learn best, what’s it like?
Clue yourself up on inclusive formats
Design programmes and courses with inclusion in mind
We thank Almuth for this superb presentation that gave us so many great insights and much needed (yet evidence based) food for thought.
Written by Michelle Schachtler Dwarika
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