CI Forum Two: Neurodivergence in Linguistics and Language Teaching
On February 19, 2026, the Department of English and Humanities at ULAB hosted its second forum of the 13th Curriculum Integration (CI) Program, with a focus on “Neurodivergence in Linguistics and Language Teaching.” Ms. Arifa Ghani Rahman, Head, Department of English and Humanities, provided the context of the Curriculum Integration Program, describing it as a platform for students to express their critical thinking and showcase their creativity, emphasizing that the program’s primary purpose is to allow students to generate creative projects bridging academic coursework and real-world social issues.
The first speaker of the forum, Dr. Mahmud Hasan Khan, Professor, DEH, commenced the discussion by focusing on the linguistic aspects of neurodivergence. He defined neurodivergence as the study of the neurological aspects of human beings, noting that it recognizes how the brain or the cognitive faculties can be structured differently. While many people are born “atypical,” he also clarified that neurodivergence can be the result of an accident or an injury to the brain.
Prof. Khan then discussed the Social Model of neurodiversity, drawing on the work of Judy Singer (1998), explaining that “neurologically different” individuals represent a new social category that augments class, gender and race. This perspective challenges the postmodern assumption that all people process sensory information such as sight, touch, sound in more or less the same way. He contrasted this model with the Medical Model of neurodiversity, which viewed disability as an impairment located within individual bodies that requires a cure.
Prof. Khan further explored the various types of neurodivergence, such as Autistic spectrum, Hyperlexia and Crypto-sensitivity syndrome. He raised an intriguing point regarding the “cut-off point” of the spectrum, suggesting that traits like shyness or a preference for special interests over group membership are widespread. He then delved into neurolinguistics, which historically emerged from aphasiology. The session also outlined various topics to be explored under neurodiversity, like agrammatism, sociolinguistics, psycholinguistics among others. Dr. Khan provided morphosyntax examples involving children with Specific Language Impairment (SLI), noting that while these children often possess the semantic knowledge of verbs, they struggle with semantic mapping. Prof. Khan ended his discussion with syntax-semantics interface and mapping hypothesis, which has direct implications in therapy, suggesting that rather than just training surface sentence forms, therapists should aim to clarify connections between meaning and structure. He proposed using color-coded thematic roles such as Subject, Direct Object, and Prepositional Object to help children identify and use these roles to make coherent sentences.
The second speaker, Mr. Golam Kader Zilany, Senior Lecturer, DEH, shifted the focus towards the practical and pedagogical implications of neurodivergence in the classroom. He began by asking the audience to reflect on common signs of Autism and ADHD that could manifest in a classroom setting. Regarding learners with Autism spectrum, he included signs such as being distracted or uncomfortable due to environmental lights and sounds, engaging in repeated actions like rocking or hand flapping to stay focused, or “masking” habits to fit in with others. He also highlighted tendencies to avoid eye contact and the presence of hyper or hypo-sensitivity. For ADHD learners, he noted that students may lose focus, feel nervous about engaging in class, or struggle with multi-step instructions.
To conceptualize the neurodivergent learner, Mr. Zilany used the analogy of a plant, suggesting that just as certain plants require special soil or specific nutrients to thrive, neurodivergent learners possess unique thinking patterns and may need more time to organize their thoughts, remember new words, or understand complex meanings. He emphasized that language is more than just words, encompassing rhythm, tone, and voice quality, and that thoughts often exist as visual or auditory images rather than just linguistic propositions. He also reminded the audience that neurodiversity extends beyond autism and ADHD, including dyslexia, varying processing speeds, and working memory differences.
Mr. Zilany further explored the neurological foundations of language, detailing the roles of Broca’s area and Wernicke’s area, connected by the arcuate fasciculus. He discussed the overlap of cognitive factors in specific learning difficulties, such as the relationship between slower naming speed in ADHD, phonological processing deficits in dyslexia, and syntactic coding difficulties in Developmental Language Disorder (DLD). To address these challenges in literacy, he cited Goodman’s (1967) work on semantic, syntactic, and graphophonic knowledge, as well as the Four Resources Model for Reading (Luke & Freebody, 1990), which positions the reader as a code breaker, text participant, text user, and text analyst.
One of the central points of his talk was the introduction of a Triple C Framework for inclusive education, which focused on three pillars: Communication (using clear, step-by-step instructions, pair spoken words with visuals and build trust through empathy), Competence (build on learner’s strengths and interests, breaking tasks into manageable chunks) and Control (maintaining predictable routines, creating sensory-friendly environments and applying UDL principles to give students multiple ways to engage and learn). Another key highlight of the forum was a practical activity where students were asked to catch a thin piece of paper with the numbers 1 through 8 written on it to test their reflexes. This activity provided a practical understanding of how neurological differences manifest in physical and cognitive tasks.
Mr. Zilany concluded the discussion by posing critical questions to consider, such as how small changes in a classroom setting can better support information processing and how listening to student voices can fundamentally improve educational inclusion.
The forum concluded with an engaging Q/A session, after which Tuni Nigar, undergraduate Teaching Assistant and emcee, expressed her gratitude to Dr. Khan and Mr. Zilany for their insightful discussions, equipping students with much needed knowledge to apply in their CI projects.
Report by Aiman Swaad Ahmad (232013065)
