The concept of neurodiversity has been in circulation for over twenty years now, coined by singer (1998) it is a term inclusive of any natural variation or divergence in how the brain operates. Although the word itself is free from connotations of formal structural or functional disorders of the nervous system, it is commonly associated with Autism. ADHD, Tourette’s syndrome, Developmental Coordination Disorder (Dyspraxia), Dyslexia, Dyscalculia, and some mental health conditions.

In the UK, the Equality Act (2010) states that people who have a disability or impairment, including those who are neurodivergent, must have reasonable adjustments made in order that they are able to live, learn and work effectively. This includes student nurses who may need reasonable adjustments during their studies, both at university and whilst on placement.

However, having reasonable adjustments put in place can be challenging, particularly in the busy clinical environments. In addition, having reasonable adjustments made requires disclosing neurodiversity to other colleagues which can be difficult. With this in mind #WeNurseAcademics would like to chat with you about your experiences of these reasonable adjustments.

We'll be gratefully joined by two extremely well-qualified and passionate nursing guest hosts:

Dr Liz King EdD RN (Child)
Tweeting as: @lizziegking
Staff Tutor @OU_HWSC | Associate Editor @JournalofCHC | Doctor of #ReasonableAdjustments for #StudentNurses in #ClinicalPlacement | Founder & Chair @RAINE_Int

Dr Rachael Major RN
Tweeting as: @rachaelmajor1
Senior Lecturer Nursing and Healthcare. passionate about #Neurodiversity, pre and post reg nurse education EdD: experiences registered nurses #dyslexia

We'll be chatting through the topic via the following questions and pre-chat polls from 8:30pm :

Poll 1: How confident do you feel in supporting student nurses who are neurodivergent?

Poll 2: How easy have you found it to access reasonable adjustments relating to student nurses who are neurodivergent?

With chat questions:

1. What reasonable adjustments are currently in place for student nurses who are neurodivergent in your university or clinical placement areas?

2. How are reasonable adjustments perceived by your university colleagues and associated clinical staff for student nurses who are neurodivergent?

3. What barriers have you faced/might you face when getting reasonable adjustments put in place for student nurses who are neurodivergent?

4. How do you think any barriers to facilitating reasonable adjustments for student nurses who are neurodivergent could be overcome/addressed?

If you've not joined a tweetchat before here's how:

Using a hashtag (#) like #WeNurses allows us to use a Twitter feature that shows everyone the tweets that contain it, this allows us to chat with people that we don't follow, yet, enabling the ability for us to chat together on Twitter.

• To see the chat click (or search) for #WeNurseAcademics on Twitter
• Look out for questions and others' responses that interest you

• To join in, add #WeNurseAcademics to your tweets

Do join in, your views, ideas, and shared experience add real value to others on the chat.

Chat Picture Credit