ADCET Webinar: Understanding and Supporting Neurodivergent Students at University

Wed 15 Oct 2025 1:00 pm – 2:00 pm AEDT

Online

Event details

As greater awareness leads to improved understanding and support for neurodivergent students, university-level support is becoming increasingly important. This webinar aims to provide information for both university staff and students about neurodivergence. It will introduce the concept of neurodiversity and explain key challenges neurodivergent students can experience in the university environment. This information will provide a foundational understanding of key concepts, and include practical, easy adjustments that can be implemented.

The content of this webinar will be drawn from a freely available Open Education Resource (OER) entitled “Communication and Teamwork Skills to Support Neurodiversity” which will provide the backdrop for this webinar. Written by Deakin University’s Teagan Menhenett (Psychology student), Nick Milne (Associate Professor of Engineering) and Siva Krishan (Associate Professor of Engineering and Associate Head of School), the OER aims to support students with the transition to studying in a new environment. This OER focuses on assisting students with this transition by guiding them through different learning activities and information to support the team-based learning they will engage in during their degree, including scaffolded group activities, and discussion of communication differences. In addition, this OER has been developed with inclusivity in mind, with interactive activities, clear learning objectives, accessibility for screen reader technology, and easy-to-digest content.

The resources in this book are designed to be accessible for all students and staff, not just those studying Engineering, with the aim of developing an understanding of disability and neurodiversity, teamwork and communication skills, and the ability to work collaboratively with peers to achieve common goals. The resources shared here can be embedded within university subjects, or as standalone educational resources to support student skill development in inclusivity, engagement with others and the capacity to contribute towards highly functional teams.

This webinar will be accessible to everyone, regardless of their current level of knowledge, and will offer an opportunity to explore an important aspect of human diversity.

Audience: University staff and students

Presenter

Teagan Menhenett (she/her) is currently completing a Bachelor of Psychology (Honours) at Deakin University, with aims to complete her Masters in Clinical Psychology next year. She has multiple mentor roles within the university and has spoken at events such as the Blue Tree project and Neurodiversity with Chloe Hayden. In addition to creating the OER, Teagan has led a project group to develop a training module for all Deakin student mentors on understanding and supporting their neurodivergent mentees. Within the broader community, she has extensive experience working with neurodivergent young people. Neurodivergent herself, Teagan is passionate about creating inclusive and accessible learning environments for all students.

The webinar is free to attend, and it will be live-captioned.

Registrations for this webinar are now open

ADCET is hosted by the University of Tasmania

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