Widening the Pathway to Learning: Making An Accessible Curriculum

By Kelly Hutton

Children learn in so many ways, it's time to widen the pathway to make it accessible to all.

For decades, our education systems have largely been operating within what is described by some as a deficit model of learning. Within this model, when a child struggles to access the curriculum, the difficulty has been located within the child; their attention, behaviour, cognition, or motivation is viewed as the "problem" that needs correcting.

Neurodiversity scholars challenge this framing. Rather than positioning neurological differences as deficits, neurodiversity paradigms recognise that variability is a natural and valuable part of human diversity (Fernado, 2024; Ogunlana & Peter-Anyebe, 2024). When we reflect on our own lives and the people we know, this just makes sense. The variability in the people we know demonstrates that we all learn in different ways. From this perspective, barriers to learn are often not created by the child, but by the environments, policies, and teaching approaches that are too rigid to accommodate differences.

If we accept that cognitive diversity is natural, then the curriculum we provide to teach our children cannot remain narrow.

The question then becomes: How do we widen the pathway to learning so that more children can genuinely access it?

Moving Beyond The Deficit Model

Our traditional educational models have often relied on standardisation: that is, one curriculum, one pace, one assessment method, one expected way of demonstrating understanding. However, the research tells us that such standardisation can unintentionally marginalise neurodivergent learners by privileging uniformity over flexibility (Orgunlana & Peter-Anyebe, 2024).

Now, let's not throw the baby out with the bathwater, because this is not about lowering expectations or learning outcomes for our children. Inclusive frameworks instead advocate for adaptable, strengths-based approaches that recognise diverse cognitive profiles (Chris & Petty, 2025), and evidence shows us that strong positive relationships between inclusive teaching approaches and student access with adaptive methodologies explain a substantial proportion of improved outcomes (Chris & Petty, 2025).

In other words, inclusion is not about charity; it is simply effective pedagogy.

But What Does It Actually Mean?

Making a curriculum accessible does not mean rewriting it entirely; it is often just about making adjustments to:

• The environment

• The way content is taught

• How learning is being demonstrated

• The culture and language of the school/learning environment

The Inclusive Learning Environment Framework outlines six interrelated components: physical, cultural, curricular, sensory, relational, and linguistic/communicative environments (Forde et al., 2025). These dimensions remind us that access is not only academic, it is also environmental and relational.

Let's look at some practical examples....

1. Adjust the Environment

Physical and sensory access

The sensory and physical environment significantly influences learning access (Forde et al., 2025). For neurodivergent learners, sensory overload can create barriers long before academic content is encountered.

Examples of widening access might look like:

• Reducing visual clutter on the walls

• Providing flexible seating options

• Creating quiet zones

• Offering noise-reducing supports

• Adjusting lighting where possible

These changes benefit learners, not only those formally identified as neurodivergent. Calm spaces support focus, emotional regulation, and cognitive processing for all children.

Research also highlights the importance of sensory-aware classroom design in promoting inclusion (Fernado, 2024).

2. Adjust Teaching Approaches (Pedagogy)

Parents may hear terms such as Universal Design for Learning (UDL) or differentiated instruction. In simple terms, these approaches mean planning learning so that flexibility is built in from the beginning, rather than added afterwards (Spaeth & Pearson, 2023; Fernado, 2024).

UDL encourages:

• Multiple ways of presenting information

• Multiple ways for children to engage

• Multiple ways for children to show understanding

Importantly, inclusive pedagogy is proactive rather than reactive (Spaeth & Pearson, 2023).

Examples in practice might look like:

Instead of: "Everyone copy from the board"

It could look like:

• Providing printed notes

• Sharing digital copies

• Using visual diagrams

• Offering verbal explanations alongside written instructions

Instead of: "Write a full page to show what you know"

It could look like:

• Allowing verbal explanation

• Mind maps

• Recorded responses

• Visual representations

Flexible, multimodel appraches are consistently associated with improved engagement and success for neurodivergent students (Chris & Petty, 2025).

3. Adjusting School Policies

Inclusive education is not only about classroom technique, but it is also about structural design.

Rigid policy compliance can restrict teacher authority and reduce flexibility (Ogunlana & Peter-Anybe, 2024). When schools are overly focused on standardised outputs, neurodivergent learners may be disproportionately disadvantaged.

In contrast, learner-centred models that prioritise flexibility and personalised pathways demonstrate improved outcomes (Ker & van Gorp, 2024).

Policy-level adjustments might include:

• Flexible assessment formats

• Reduced emphasis on uniform presentation

• Behaviour policies that recognise regulation differences

• Timetabling adjustments

• Strength-based language in reports

Inclusive cultures are reinforced when educators use neurodiversity-affirming language and foster open conversations about difference (Soldovieri, 2024).

4. Cultural and Relational Inclusion

Physical placement in a classroom does not automatically equal inclusion. The research highlights for us the distinction between physical inclusion and experienced inclusion - that feeling of belonging and benefiting from the inclusion (Soldovieri, 2024).

When experienced inclusion is lacking, the learning will suffer.

Neurodiversity-affirming approaches emphasise:

• Relationship building

• Community culture

• Subtle inclusion practices

• Inclusive language

• Shared responsibility for belonging

(Soldovieri, 2024)

Inclusion isn't just about strategy, but it's about the culture that is practised, and this is really important.

5. Flexibility Is Not About Lowering Standards

A common concern is that accessibility reduces rigour; inclusive frameworks emphasise removing barriers, not the expectations. I think this is incredibly important, as this gets misinterpreted.

The research is telling us that there is a strong correlation between inclusive pedagogical approaches and measurable student success (Chris & Petty, 2025). When the access improves, the outcomes improve, and we find that the issue is rarely capability; it was the access.

Widening the Pathway for Everyone

When we widen the pathway to learning, moving aware from one way of doing something for everyone to give more options and more accessibility, we will find that:

• Children who process information differently are not excluded by default.

• Learners who need more time are not labelled as lazy.

• Those who think visually, verbally, kinaesthetically, or analytically all have routes to succeed.

Inclusive design benefits all learners because cognitive diversity is not rare; it is normal (Fernando, 2024; Ogunlana & Peter-Anybe, 2024), and an accessible curriculum does not dilute learning but makes it clearer, in turn strengthening it and making it possible for everyone to access it.

Learn more about how we can make a more accessible curriculum with the FREE module "Introduction to Supporting Neurodivergent Learners" available here.

Introduction to Supporting Neurodivergent Learners Available Here:

References

Chris, B., & Petty, S. (2025). Neurodiversity in Classroom Dynamics: Inclusive Pedagogical Frameworks for Neurodivergent Student Engagement.

Fernando, T. (2024). Embracing Neurodiversity in Education: A Review of Inclusive Practices, Policies, and Pedagogies.

Forde, D., Carstens, C., Haihambo, C. K., Sivunen, U., O’Neill, C., & Galletti, A. (2025). Creating a Framework for Inclusive Learning Environment.

Ker, G., & van Gorp, R. (2024). Quality Education for All: A Case Study of Success for a Neurodivergent Learner.

Ogunlana, Y. S., & Peter-Anyebe, A. C. (2024). Policy by Design: Inclusive Instructional Models for Advancing Neurodiversity Equity in Public Programs.

Soldovieri, A. (2024). Thinking, Talking, Teaching: How Primary School Educators Facilitate Neurodiversity-Affirming Classroom Practices to Support Students’ Inclusion.

Spaeth, E., & Pearson, A. (2023). A Reflective Analysis on How to Promote a Positive Learning Experience for Neurodivergent Students.