JOHOR BAHRU, Oct 30 – The Faculty of Educational Sciences and Technology (FEST), Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM), recently hosted the first session of the Neurodiversity Colloquium Series, themed “Neurodiversity and Inclusive Education.” The event brought together academic and non-academic staff, as well as students, to deepen their understanding of learner diversity and explore practical strategies for teaching, curriculum design, assessment, student support, and research within an inclusive framework.
In his opening remarks, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Aede Hatib Musta’amal, Deputy Dean (Research, Innovation and Development) of FEST, outlined three goals for the series. The first is to increase understanding and awareness of neurodiversity and its implications for teaching, learning, and research. The second is to offer a scholarly platform for ongoing discussion across education, research, and community engagement. He also mentioned initial actions, including developing the knowledge base and guidance necessary to establish a neurodiversity research initiative at the faculty.
The featured talk was delivered by Dr. Aida A. Rahman, a senior lecturer from the Language Academy, Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities (FSSH), UTM. Dr. Aida, who also serves as Chair of the Association of Parents of Special Needs Children (GIAT) Johor Bahru and as a Member of the Board of Visitors of the Psychiatric Hospital, Hospital Sultanah Aminah (HSA) Johor Bahru, highlighted that inclusive education goes beyond disability labels to encompass cognitive styles, language, culture, and context, to achieve equity and fairness among the neurodiverse students. Each learner receives the support needed to attain comparable outcomes. Since many cognitive differences are not visible, she argued, ensuring access to knowledge becomes the main challenge. Teachers and educators are encouraged to plan for learner variability from the start, using universal design for learning, differentiated instruction, multimodal and multisensorial resources, among many approaches.
Dr. Aida emphasised that assessment should be used to understand students, not to label or exclude them. She warned that ranking students without considering their needs can cause disengagement, absenteeism, and stress. While teachers are not therapists, she stressed that understanding who their students are helps them make informed decisions about how to teach diverse learners. Mainstream teachers do not need to master specialist therapeutic skills, but they do need to know how to support a variety of learning needs. Teaching assistants can help manage behaviour and provide necessary accommodations in class, while teachers focus on adapting lessons so all students can take part meaningfully.
She also clarified the difference between intervention and accommodation. Interventions are early, targeted actions to address specific learning needs, while accommodations are ongoing adjustments that ensure fair access to learning, such as extra time or assistive technology. Dr. Aida strongly promoted a whole-school ecosystem characterised by clear professional roles, a realistic, student-centred curriculum that values students’ skills, interests, and stages of development, and practical supports such as teaching assistants, differentiated tasks, and multisensory learning approaches.
This inaugural session affirms FEST’s commitment to advancing a shared understanding of neurodiversity. A recording of the event is available on FEST’s official social media channel: https://www.facebook.com/share/v/1BWiSMvzPd/
