Neurodiversity and Mental Health: Challenges and Strategies for 2e Students in Spanish Language Learning at the University Level

Paper

In today’s reality, as educators and continuous learners, we find ourselves interacting with a generation of students who have faced many recent challenges and extreme circumstances that have been affecting their performance in the classroom environment. Thus, we can already observe the negative effects from the overuse of technology, online learning fatigue as well as the after effect of the recent Covid-19 pandemic. Students who are gifted and twice exceptional often have received accommodations in middle school and high school to provide support when learning different subjects.  Looking ahead to college or university study, many degree programs require students to take foreign language classes as a requirement, which tends to offset some 2e students who have mastered techniques to navigate their neurodiverse learning styles. In the language learning context, it is usual to observe 2e students requiring more support as they learn a new language to communicate. In the recent years, we have also experienced a rapid increase in needed accommodations at the college level due to mental health and neurodiverse diagnoses, which creates a demand for educators to adapt in the classroom environment to be able to aid these students in our new changing spaces. This presentation will offer a personal account on institutional logistics and support to this students as well as a discussion of some challenges and strategies to use in the classroom in order to provide a supportive and engaging environment for our 2e students.