In the December 2018 issue of Business and Professional Communication Quarterly, my colleague Sushil Oswal and I proposed a research agenda for bringing in disability theory and accessibility to business and professional communication. Our lead article in this issue continues that discussion. The author outlines the opportunities and challenges of teaching neurodiverse students in business and professional communication classrooms and suggests basic resources for how to help students succeed. As the author notes, disability service offices can write letters for specific accommodations that should be offered—such as flexibility with deadlines, extended time for exams, note-takers, and the like—but such guidance does not offer a broader context for understanding the various challenges that neurodivergent students may face in fulfilling the requirements of communication courses. At the same time, neurodivergent students have much to offer in terms of the specific skills most urgently needed in the workplace, including critical thinking, attention to detail, productivity, and appreciation for reliability. The author concludes that neurodiversity can be a competitive advantage, as opposed to being seen as a problem. We welcome more such studies of how to further challenge ableist perspectives, reframe the narrative around disability, and create enabling spaces in our classrooms and the workplace.

中文翻译：

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在商务和专业交流课程中为神经多样性学生提供支持：机遇与挑战

在《商业和专业传播季刊》 2018年12月号中，我的同事Sushil Oswal和我提出了一项研究议程，以引入残疾理论以及商业和专业交流的可及性。我们在本期的主要文章继续进行了讨论。作者概述了在商务和专业交流教室中为神经多样性学生提供教学的机会和挑战，并提出了如何帮助学生取得成功的基本资源。正如作者所指出的那样，残疾人服务办公室可以为应提供的特殊住宿条件写信，例如灵活的截止日期，延长的考试时间，做笔记的人等，但此类指南并未提供更广泛的背景来理解在满足沟通课程要求时，神经发散型学生可能会面临各种挑战。同时，在工作场所最迫切需要的特定技能方面，神经发散学生可以提供很多帮助，包括批判性思维，对细节的关注，生产力以及对可靠性的欣赏。作者得出的结论是，与被视为问题相反，神经多样性可以是一项竞争优势。我们欢迎进行更多此类研究，以研究如何进一步挑战能力主义者的观点，重新组织关于残疾的叙述以及在我们的教室和工作场所中创造有利的空间。