For many schools, neurodiversity may be a relatively new concept, along with the language and understandings that accompany it. LEANS introduces students and teachers to neurodiversity in ways that are accessible, strengths-based and grounded in lived experience. The curriculum explores how differences in thinking, learning, communication and information processing can shape children’s experiences within primary school environments.

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Importantly, LEANS takes a neuroaffirming approach. It encourages positive and respectful understandings of neurodiversity, while also recognising that many neurodivergent children experience barriers, misunderstandings and challenges within school systems that are not always designed with their needs in mind.

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LEANS introduces neurodiversity to students in child-friendly language:

Neurodiversity means that people’s brains work in different ways, which can shape how we think, learn, feel, communicate and experience the world. Every classroom includes many different ways of thinking and learning.

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The program highlights the many ways our brains process information, and how these differences can influence experiences across multiple areas of life. For example, a child’s neurotype may affect movement, memory, communication, sensory processing, attention or emotional regulation at the same time. LEANS supports students to understand that these experiences are interconnected and meaningful, rather than isolated “problems” to be fixed.

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To help explain neurodiversity and neurodivergence, LEANS uses the metaphor of different trees growing within a forest. Some trees are well suited to the environment around them, while others may struggle because the conditions do not fully meet their needs. The metaphor helps children understand that difference is not deficit. One tree is not inherently “better” or “worse” than another — they simply have different needs, strengths and ways of growing.

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Three important things to understand about neurodiversity content within LEANS

• LEANS is an introduction to neurodiversity.
  The program is intended as a starting point for further learning, reflection and discussion. No single resource can capture every neurodivergent experience or perspective.

• LEANS focuses on school experiences.
  The curriculum centres on neurodiversity within primary school contexts, helping students connect the ideas to their everyday lives and relationships.

• LEANS prioritises lived experience over diagnostic labels.
  Rather than teaching a list of diagnostic traits, LEANS focuses on how people experience the world differently. It also acknowledges that neurodivergent people may or may not identify through formal diagnosis.

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Neurodiversity content for teachers

Teachers do not need to be experts in neurodiversity to deliver LEANS. Educators may begin the program with a wide range of knowledge, confidence and lived experience, and the Teacher Handbook is designed to support teachers wherever they are starting from.

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The handbook provides an accessible introduction to neurodiversity concepts and language, while recognising that understandings of neurodiversity continue to evolve. It is intended to:

• support teachers to feel prepared to introduce neurodiversity concepts within primary classrooms

• explain how neurodiversity language and ideas connect with existing educational understandings

• provide child-friendly ways to discuss complex concepts

• highlight ethical and wellbeing considerations when teaching about neurodiversity

• offer pathways for further reading and learning for educators who would like to explore the topic in greater depth