#201: Your Staff's Hidden Superpowers: Building a Neuroinclusive Workplace Without Lowering Expectations

 What if the colleague you've been describing as "quirky" is the most underused talent in your building? 

In this episode of Coaching the Whole Educator, Becca Silver sits down with Justin Permenter of NDI Institute to talk about building workplaces where neurodivergent educators, coaches, and leaders can perform, contribute, and lead without lowering expectations. Roughly one in five people is neurodivergent, including people with ADHD, autism, dyslexia, and dyspraxia. Yet most schools and organizations are built for neurotypical ways of working by default. Students get IEPs and 504 plans. Adults get a workplace that expects everyone to sit at the same table, the same way, on the same timeline. 

Justin shares his journey from the classroom in Kansas City to international education in Qatar and his work with Franklin Covey's Leader in Me, plus the story of Omar, a 16-year-old autistic intern who outperformed full-time staff at the Waldorf Astoria within three weeks. Becca opens up about her own ADHD diagnosis and the moment she started seeing it as a strength instead of a deficit. 

You'll learn: 

• Why accommodation and compliance checklists aren't the same as strengths activation
• How curiosity (the C in NDI's CLEAR framework) replaces judgment when a colleague works differently
• What "results alignment" means: keeping outcomes high while allowing multiple pathways to get there
• One thing school leaders and instructional coaches can do tomorrow to lead more neuroinclusively

Perfect for instructional coaches, principals, district leaders, and anyone who leads adults in schools.

 
Resources mentioned:

Website: www.ndiinstitute.com

Webinar on October 6th: https://www.ndiinstitute.com/webinar

Free C.L.E.A.R. Framework: https://www.ndiinstitute.com/download 

The Resistance Solution: Why Educators Resist and What They Need Instead: amzn.to/4pRCaa5

Resistance Solution Book Study Facilitator Training: https://www.thewholeeducator.com/book-study-facilitator-training

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