Back	Brochure Online Admission

Netaji Subhas Open University
&
Commonwealth Educational Media Centre for Asia jointly offer MOOC
on
'Understanding Neurodiversity'

About the Course: To secure the right to education of every child, Academic Institutions are required to identify and accommodate neuro-divergent children and young people along with neuro-typical learners. The inclusion and equal participation of all children/youth within the schooling/academic system has been accorded the highest priority in the Government of India’s National Education Policy 2020. There is a critical need to provide increased awareness, knowledge and training regarding teaching students with neurological differences. To address this need, CEMCA and NSOU have jointly developed a MOOC on "Understanding Neurodiversity".

Welcome Video

Overture:
Neurodiversity is a scientific concept arising from brain imaging. Several brain studies have shown that people with learning or thinking differences are "wired" differently than their peers. In other words, some children are born with brains that think, learn and process information differently than others. The term neurodiversity is an umbrella term that refers to a spectrum of conditions, not any single group and has since come to include the following variations:

• Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD)
• Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD or dyspraxia)
• Dyslexia
• Dyscalculia
• Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)
• Other neurological conditions

Course Objectives:

• To impart knowledge about the concepts of neurodiversity and building positive mindsets.
• To create sensitive processes and essentials for Neurodiverse learner/young people.
• To enhance professional's ability to understand and connect to Neurodiverse learners.
• To increase awareness about the social, psychological, and academic implications for neurodiverse learners; and to increase the capability of implementing inclusive education practices.
• To share, develop, and embed good practices for accommodation and intervention among professionals both nationally and internationally, to support neuro-divergent learners/neuro-diverse learners or young people.

Target Group (Who is this course for?):
This course is designed for teachers and teacher educators, College and University faculty with related teaching and research interests, teaching assistants, psychologists, counsellors, speech therapists, parents of children with Specific Learning Difficulties/neurodiversity, and educational leaders including heads of schools/Academic Institutions.

Course Duration: This is a five-week online course requiring approximately 4 hours per week.
Level: Introductory
Language: English
Prerequisites: None

Course Outline

Week	Module	Content Outline
Week1	Module-1 Concept of Neurodiversity	Definition and areas of Neurodiversity, Principles of Neurodiversity, Psychological and social aspects of Neurodiversity
Week 2	Module-2 Specific Learning Difficulties (SpLD), Part 1	SpLD: Definition, Scope and Types SpLD and Neurodiversity Dyslexia: An Overview
Week 3	Module-3 Specific Learning Difficulties (SpLD), Part 2	Dyspraxia: An Overview Dysgraphia: An Overview Dyscalculia: An Overview
Week 4	Module-4 Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)	ASD: Conceptual Framework ASD and Co-morbidity Understanding ADHD
Week 5	Module-5 Neurodiversity and Inclusion: Good Practices	Supporting Neurodiverse Learners: Sensitization is the Key Universal Design for Learning (UDL): An Overview Celebrating Neurodiversity

Certification:
Certificate of Completion requires 70% final assessment/quizzes, participation in at least 5 discussion forums. Certificate will be issued by the Netaji Subhas Open University & Commonwealth Educational Media Centre for Asia.

Course Coordinator:
Professor Anirban Ghosh
Director, CIQA, NSOU
E-mail: anirban1972@gmail.com

Dr. Shiffon Chatterjee
Sr. Programme Officer, CEMCA
E-mail: schatterjee@col.org

Course Facilitators/Mentors:
Manobina Chakraborty
Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts (London)
Inclusive Education Consultant; Founder, i for inclusion

Papiya Upadhyay, Ph.D
Asst. Professor of Education
Netaji Subhas Open University

Antara Choudhury
Asst. Professor of Special Education
Netaji Subhas Open University

Kavita Sharma
Special Educator
Founder Director, PRAYAS
Founder Member, Autism Society of India
Governing Body Member - The Serrendip