A school that aims to embrace neurodiversity must do more than just make one-off accommodations or offer individual exceptions. It must rethink its underlying philosophy. This is the assessment of speech-language pathologist and educational psychologist Telma Pantano, of the Hospital das Clínicas at the USP School of Medicine, who advocates for a structural change in school culture.

The topic will be discussed at the Bett Brasil 2026 Administrators’ Forum, Latin America’s largest event on innovation and technology in education.  The panel “More Than Acceptance: How Neurodiversity Requires Transformation in Culture, Curriculum, and Community” will also feature Kadu Lins, CEO of the Autism Institute and the University of Inclusion, and will take place on May 5.

• Check out the full schedule for the event
• Register for Bett Brasil 2026

According to Telma, schools have historically been built on a model of cognitive and behavioral standardization, in which any difference tends to be interpreted as a failure or a delay. “When we begin to understand the brain, we realize that brain diversity is natural,” she says.

Conditions such as ADHD, dyslexia, and high abilities, Telma explains, should not be viewed solely from the perspective of pathology, but rather as neurobiological variations (distinct ways of functioning) that can benefit from ongoing interventions and processes within the school environment.

This change directly impacts how the school interprets student behavior. “A lot of misbehavior and disinterest are beginning to be seen—and often interpreted—as expressions of neural functioning,” he says. Instead of punishment, this opens the door to flexible pedagogical planning.

Telma Pantano is one of the confirmed speakers at Bett Brasil 2026. Photo: Courtesy.

For Telma, learning is the result of the interaction between cognitive and socioemotional processes. Therefore, embracing neurodiversity involves varying time frames and paces, investing in multimodal teaching strategies, making assessment situations more flexible, reducing information overload, and clarifying instructions and objectives. “This helps reduce emotional stress for students,” she says.

The Role of the Teacher

The transformation in the teaching and learning process also redefines the teacher’s role. “Teachers are no longer merely conveyors of content; they become collective emotional regulators—people who employ compensatory strategies,” says the expert. To achieve this, training in neurodevelopment, the ability to interpret behavior, and collaborative work with multidisciplinary teams are essential.

“There is no single way to teach, just as there is no single way to learn,” Telma points out. The resistance to abandoning traditional and standardized models, she argues, is linked to the persistent notion that anything that deviates from the norm is a disease. However, neuroscience shows that “variability is the rule, not the exception.”

This finding poses a direct challenge to teacher training. “Initial and continuing teacher training still does not address neurodiversity as it should,” she says. For those who work in education, understanding the different ways students engage with knowledge is a basic requirement. “A diversity of teaching and assessment strategies is what makes a school that truly embraces students’ neurodiverse characteristics,” she states.

For Telma, the difference between rhetoric and real change lies precisely there: in the willingness to reexamine structures, curricula, practices, and relationships. A school that recognizes neurodiversity as part of the human condition not only includes everyone but also reinvents itself.

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