Presented at LILAC 2024.

1. Before we begin: Communication stickers
There are stickers on each table for anyone who would like to use
them for the session. This is an optional activity.
If you would like to use one, all you need to do is add the sticker to your
name badge. They are easy to remove post session... as have tested
on my badge!
• Green rectangle: you don't mind people approaching you to talk and
be involved in activities.
• Yellow diamond: you might approach people to talk and you might get
involved with activities, but you don't want people to approach you in
the session.
• Red circle: you don't want to talk to people that you don't know on the
day and would prefer not to be involved in the activities.
This is an example of one of the activities in use during a pre-enrolment
day for autistic students.

2. Academic libraries:
supporting
neurodivergent
students
Emma Finney*
Subject librarian: Hallam Library
Sheffield Hallam University
*Presenter details are at the end of the
presentation.

3. This workshop will encourage you to:
• Develop our understanding of what neurodiversity and
neurodivergent means.
• Identify ways in which academic libraries can be more
inclusive.
• Become or continue to be agents for change in their
libraries.

4. Ways of being: in this workshop
The workshop contains a mixture of presentation and two
activities.
• If anyone needs a break, you can take time out of the session
and come back when you are ready.
• The group chat activities will not include feedback to the
whole workshop.
Can I ask questions before the workshop finishes?
• If you have a question or a thought about any content
covered... write down your question or thought on the
question sheet on your table.
• If you prefer, you can ask me your question after the session
has ended.

5. Activities and sharing
The session contains discussion and talking points.
There is no expectation for anyone to share any personal or disability related
information.
When you see the lightbulb in the slide header... it means that there is an activity.
This may involve chatting in pairs or small groups or writing on flipchart paper.
• Taking time to pause before getting into a discussion is OK.
• We may not always know the answer to questions.
• We may need to find organisation specific answers when back with our home
organisation.

6. Know your terms:
neurodiversity and
neurodivergent

7. What is neurodiversity?
From my perspective:
• Neurodiversity describes the range of brains in the world from mine to
yours with everyone else mixed up in this grouping.
• It is the plural and relates to all.
A formal definition:
• “Essentially, neurodiversity refers to the rich natural diversity of human
minds. To me, neurodiversity is the celebration, recognition and
acceptance that we all experience the world in different ways.” (Aherne,
2023, p.16).
Take time to find out more: Aherne, 2023.

8. What is neurodivergent?
Neurodivergent is the singular and relates to the person.
A formal definition:
• “When someone diverges from what is deemed as the
dominant cognitive way of functioning / communicating /
thinking we then say that this person is neurodivergent.”
(Smith & Kirby, 2021, p.25)
Take time to find out more: Read Smith & Kirby (2021).

9. Being neurodivergent
Being neurodivergent* can include:
• Autism Spectrum Disorder, Aspergers Syndrome
• Pathological Demand Avoidance
• Dyslexia, Dyspraxia, Dyscalculia
• Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder
Find out more about a broad range of neurodivergent conditions:
• Honeybourne, V. (2018). Chapter 2: Understanding Neurodiversity. Written for
school level education.
• Oslund, C. (2014). Written for university level of education.
• Lived narratives – Barton (2014), Connolly (2020), Ollerton (n.d) and Donovan
(2023).
*This is not an extensive list of all conditions... the slide can only fit so much!

10. Talking about disability
People may use person first or identity first language or another preferred phrasing.
• Identity first puts the disability first: I’m autistic.
• Person first puts the person first: a person with autism.
My preference is:
• Identity first language but my preference is just that – my preference!
Some people may prefer person first but if unsure – listen to how the person refers to themselves.
When you get back to your organisation:
• Find out how your specialist support service communicate about disability.
• How does the library communicate about disability?
• Find out more: Taboas, A., Doepke, K., & Zimmerman, C. (2023) or University of Leeds (2024).

11. Activity: 5 min table discussion

12. Find your organisation experts
Meet the Inclusive Support team at Sheffield Hallam
University. The team helps students to adjust to university
life and is available to those who:
• have a mental health difficulty, ADHD or are on the
autism spectrum
Work with: Each summer, I provide library support and
talks for the pre-enrolment day for autistic students run by
the Inclusive Support Team.
Download: the Best Practice guides from Autism & Uni
Online toolkit.
Explore: look how other university libraries have applied
the toolkit e.g., University of Sheffield. or created sensory
workspaces e.g. University of Warwick.

13. 1990s student protest
chants at student anti
grant demonstrations.
“Education is a
right not a
privilege”

14. Drivers for change
Boosting understanding of neurodiversity may help create
system change which in turn helps all within the system
achieve their goals.
• The diagnosis rates related to neurodivergence are
increasing (Russell et al. 2022).
• HESA (2022, 2023a, 2023b, 2023c, 2023d) shows from
2014-2022, students with known disabilities are increasing.
The same data shows the largest group is students with
hidden disabilities.
Once here, our processes, systems and organisation should
enable and not become barriers.
Think cactus (Aherne, 2023).

15. Listen to the student voice*
The importance of the student voice:
• Irvine and MacLeod (2022), Beardon, Martin and Woolsey (2009) emphasize the importance
of the autistic student voice within work / research related to autistic students.
• Irvine and MacLeod (2022), Beardon, Martin and Woolsey (2009), Anderson (2021) and
Connolly (2020) highlight barriers, themes, challenges and successes.
• Themes from literature include: environment, support, culture and staff.
Find out more: the above is essential reading!
When opportunity strikes:
• Recently, there was an opportunity to chat with students and listen to their viewpoints.
• This led to an invite to a meeting with academics about neurodiversity.
• This led to supporting a research bid around student communication and neurodiversity.
*These sources are focusing on autistic students.

16. What are the unwritten library rules?
Why am I asking this?
I was out walking in the Peak District with a neurodivergent friend.
• Each time we walked past a person, I’d say Hello.
• My friend asked why do this in the countryside but not on the high
street.
• I explained it is just what you do! My friend asked where was the book
of unwritten rules with this information in it...
In relation to libraries, are there unwritten library rules that we expect the
students to know?

17. Activity:1/2: 10 mins: Unwritten library rules
Question: What are your libraries unwritten rules?
Here are few suggestions:
• You do not have to return a book to the shelf when you have finished using it.
• A systematic review is not an undergraduate assignment.
• The Library Discovery System does not search all of the Library collection.
• You can read content for a module that is not on a reading list.
• You can socialise in some parts of the library but not others.
• University libraries may be different to other libraries that were quiet and a refuge.
• There may be sensory issues like noise and light and temperature that are hard to alter.
How to take part
Each table has flip chart paper and pens for this exercise.
You are free to chat and write or write and not chat!
At the end of the activity, it would be great to see our collective thoughts.
There will be an opportunity at the end of the session if you want to take photos of the
flipchart paper to help build on this activity within your home organisation.

18. Why is universal design important?
Universal design (Mace, 1985) can enable rather than disable people. UD has been applied
to space, process and service design. UD when applied to education is: Universal Design
for Learning (UDL).
UDL is based on three principles (Bracken & Novak (2019):
• multiple means of engagement
• multiple means of representation
• multiple means of action and expression
Universities and libraries need to continue to embed and apply UD and UDL principles
consistently to physical space, the online library, teaching materials, processes and
communications.
• Hallam Library Services Plan 2020-2025 Be an inclusive service: Use UX principles and
universal design.
Find out more: If you are involved with library space design, take a look at PAS 6463:2022:
Design for the mind. Neurodiversity and the built environment.

19. After the workshop: Sensory overload
You can get an insight into sensory overload within
an environment by viewing the video: Sensory
Overload.
If you do not experience this, it may help you
envisage how challenging getting to university,
being in a lecture theatre or university space can
feel.
Warning: The noise level does increase, spikes
and contains flashing images. The sound builds
and it is too loud to play within the workshop!
Director and Animator: Miguel Jiron
Produced and Developed by: Scott Mahoy, Creative Director of Interacting with Autism.

20. Reflections
In the space, guides or information we control and create:
• Use clear signage. Use plain English. Use photographs to show what your space or
buildings look like.
In the teaching content we deliver:
• Make sure you meet any upload slides deadline before a taught session. Circulate
meeting papers in advance of staff meetings.
• The amount of processing time people need can vary. Providing material in advance can
help with information processing and enable reflection without a time pressure.
In understanding how people present themselves:
• Eye contact may be difficult or painful for some people but that may not mean the person
is not listening.
• Listening, processing and concentrating in class or meetings can be hard. Doodling or
drawing may help a person focus, aid listening or build tiny movement breaks into a still
activity.

21. Changes in Hallam Library
From 2022/2023:
• Library induction slides contain information about the library environment from a sensory
perspective.
• Curated reading list project: Neurodiversity: seeing the world through a different lens.
• Themed tweets and library blog posts for Autism Awareness week.
• Use of evidence-based analytics to shape neurodivergent book purchases.
• Keep up to date with research and use Library Search alerts to find new resources which
focus on students, neurodiversity and higher education.
• Themed Library Skills Chat podcasts Understanding Neurodiversity and Autism
Awareness.
From 2023/2024:
• Student Partner projects involving student collaboration and library space.
• Pilot of awareness raising session for academic staff about neurodiversity.

22. Connecting the person to the profession
Find out more about librarians'
neurodivergent perspectives:
• Attar (2021), Tumlin (2019) and Outputs
section of the Neurodivergent Library and
Information Staff Network (N-LISN) (2021)
website.
The N-LISN output section includes reports into:
• workplace environment
• workload management
• recruitment and interviews
If I could make one change at work...

23. Make meaningful change
Take those first steps!
• work with the specialist teams that support neurodivergent students and
learn best practice.
• engage with a range of neurodivergent students and staff to understand how
our support offer works or doesn’t work for them.
• talk within our spheres of influence about how we can support neurodiversity
within libraries and advocate for a step change in support.
• challenge presumed knowledge or misconceptions.
New for 2023/2024, we tried:
• offering one to one library tours to students with learning contracts to
become familiar with the space and services available (Anderson, 2021).

24. Activity 2/2: 2 mins: Be the change!
Question: What change will you make either for yourself or your
organisation.
How to take part
• Each table has post it notes for this exercise.
• Write the change you are going to make out twice.
• Stick one on the board here and keep the other.
The note you keep, stick it, where you can see it each day to remind you
that you are a change maker!

25. Autism + Environment = Outcome
Beardon (2017, p.18)

26. Any questions?

27. This workshop encouraged you to:
• Develop our understanding of what neurodiversity and
neurodivergent means.
• Identify ways in which academic libraries can be more
inclusive.
• Become or continue to be agents for change in their
libraries.

28. Recommended resources
• Aherne, D. (2023). The Pocket Guide to Neurodiversity. Jessica Kingsley.
• Alkurhah. (2015, Jan 16). Sensory Overload [Video]. YouTube.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K2P4Ed6G3gw
• Anderson, A. (2021). From mutual awareness to collaboration: Academic libraries and
autism support programs. Journal of Librarianship and Information Science, 53(1), 103–115.
https://doi.org/10.1177/0961000620918628
• Attar, K. (2021). Autism, librarianship and their fit. Good Autism Practice, 22(2), 32-39.
https://www.ingentaconnect.com
• Autism&Uni (2016) The Autism&Uni Online Toolkit. https://www.autism-uni.org/toolkits/
• Barton, M. (2014). A different kettle of fish: a day in the life of a physics student with autism.
Jessica Kingsley.
• Beardon, L. (2017). Autism and Asperger syndrome in adults. Sheldon Press.

29. Recommended resources
• Beardon, L., Martin, N & Woolsey, I. (2009). What do students with Asperger
syndrome or high-functioning autism want at college and university? (in their own
words). Good Autism Practice, 10(2), 35-43. https://www.ingentaconnect.com
• Bracken, S., & Novak, K. (Eds.). (2019). Transforming higher education through
Universal Design for Learning : an international perspective. Routledge.
• Connolly, S. (2020). How students on the autism spectrum experience higher
education. [Doctoral dissertation, Sheffield Hallam University].
SHURA. https://doi.org/10.7190/shu-thesis-00382
• Donovan, D. (no date). ADHD Comics. Retrieved March 12, 2024 from
https://www.adhddd.com/comics/
• HESA. (2022, Sept 2). Student 2021/: Fields required from institutions in All fields.
https://www.hesa.ac.uk/collection/c2151/a/disable#validEntries

30. Recommended resources
• HESA. (2023c, Jan 19). Higher Education Student Statistics: UK, 2021/22 - Student
numbers and characteristics. https://www.hesa.ac.uk/news/19-01-2023/sb265-higher-
education-student-statistics/numbers
• HESA. (2023a, Jan). Table 15 - UK domiciled student enrolments by disability and sex
2014/15 to2021/22. https://www.hesa.ac.uk/data-and-analysis/students/table
• HESA. (2023b, Jan 31). Who's studying in HE? Personal Characteristics.
https://www.hesa.ac.uk/data-and-analysis/students/whos-in-he
HESA. (2023d, Feb 21). Who's working in HE?: Personal characteristics: HE staff by
HE provider and personal characteristics Academic years 2014/15 to 2021/22.
https://www.hesa.ac.uk/data-and-analysis/staff/working-in-he/characteristics
• Honeybourne, V. (2018). The neurodiverse classroom: a teacher’s guide to individual
learning needs and how to meet them. Jessica Kingsley,

31. Recommended resources
• Honeybourne, V. (2020). The neurodiverse workplace: an employer’s guide to managing
and working with neurodivergent employees, clients and customers. Jessica Kingsley
Publishers.
• Irvine, B. & MacLeod., A. (2022). What are the challenges and successes reported by
autistic students at university? a literature review. Good Autism Practice, 23(1), 49-59.
https://www.ingentaconnect.com
• Mace, R. (1985). Universal design, barrier-free environments for everyone. Designers
West 33(1), 147–152.
• Neurodivergent Library and Information Staff Network (2021) Retrieved March, 13, from
https://nlisn.org/
• Ollerton, B. (no date). Bex Ollerton. Retrieved March 12, 2024 from
https://schnumn.com/comics

32. Recommended resources
• Russell, G., Stapley, S., Newlove‐Delgado, T., Salmon, A., White, R., Warren, F.,
Pearson, A., & Ford, T. (2022). Time trends in autism diagnosis over 20 years: a UK
population‐based cohort study. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 63(6),
674–682. https://doi.org/10.1111/jcpp.13505
• Sheffield Hallam University (2024) Neurodiversity: Seeing the world through multiple
lens. https://rl.talis.com/3/shu/lists/BB5E111A-FBBF-A34B-D677-
EEDCAD828126.html
• Smith, T. & Kirby, A. (2021). Neurodiversity at work: drive innovation, performance
and productivity with a neurodiverse workforce. Kogan Page.
• Spiers, I. (2016). Experiences of students on the autism spectrum at the University of
Wolverhampton: the student perspective. Good Autism Practice, 17(1), 23-29.
https://www.ingentaconnect.com

33. Recommended resources
• Taboas, A., Doepke, K., & Zimmerman, C. (2023). Preferences for identity-first versus
person-first language in a US sample of autism stakeholders. Autism : The International
Journal of Research and Practice, 27(2), 565–570.
https://doi.org/10.1177/13623613221130845
• Tumlin, Z. (2019). “This Is a Quiet Library, Except When It’s Not:” On the Lack of
Neurodiversity Awareness in Librarianship. Music Reference Services Quarterly, 22(1–2),
3–17. https://doi.org/10.1080/10588167.2019.1575017
• University of Leeds (2024). Equality and Inclusion Unit: Inclusive Language Guidance.
https://equality.leeds.ac.uk/support-and-resources/inclusive-language-guidance
• Weber, C., Krieger, B., Häne, E., Yarker, J., & McDowall, A. (2022). Physical workplace
adjustments to support neurodivergent workers: A systematic review. Applied Psychology.
https://doi.org/10.1111/apps.12431

34. This workshop was delivered by:
Emma Finney
• Learning and Teaching Support
Librarian
• Sheffield Hallam University
My communication preference is:
• At Lilac: in person
• After Lilac via email:
e.p.finney@shu.ac.uk