Page 11 - Education Supplement August 2025

SUPPORTING NEURODIVERGENT
CHILDREN IN MAINSTREAM
CLASSROOMS
By Nicola Killops & Naledi Mokoena
ainstream classrooms are not
what they used to be. Today, we’ve
Mcome to learn, that they’re more
diverse — not just in culture or language,
but in how children learn, think, feel, and
experience the world. And while this is
something to celebrate, it also makes
things more complex for parents of
neurodivergent children who don’t always
“fit the mould.”
We know this road. Between us, we’ve
sat on both sides of the table — as
professionals and as advocates. We’ve
listened to frustrated parents. We’ve
worked with overwhelmed teachers. And
we’ve seen children carry the weight of
misunderstanding simply because their
needs didn’t match the system’s default
setting.
But we’ve also seen what’s possible when
that system shifts — even slightly.
Education | August 2025 | 9
Belonging is More Than Being Present
Many neurodivergent children become experts in camouflaging their
intuitive needs, long before they understand why they feel different.
They learn the rules — how to sit still, raise a hand, smile politely,
copy from the board. They learn how to shrink, to stay off the radar,
to mimic what their peers do even when it doesn’t come naturally.
And they do all of this not because school feels safe, but because
standing out often doesn’t.
From the outside, they might look like they’re coping — bright,
compliant, even “easy.” But inside, they’re running a marathon no
one can see. The constant effort to regulate, to suppress sensory
overload, to decode social cues, and to not “get it wrong” takes
its toll. And when they don’t appear to be coping, their struggle to
comply with the classroom demands, results in them being tagged
as the misbehaving child. By the time they get home, they’re done.
Emotionally, mentally, sometimes even physically.
Mainstream schools often talk about inclusion — and many truly care.
But inclusion isn’t just about having a seat in the classroom. It’s not
about being present for roll call. True inclusion means being seen,
understood, and supported as you are, not only when you perform like
everyone else.