The Architecture of Belonging: Embracing the Neurodivergent Umwelt
By Elaine Griffin University School of Milwaukee • Milwaukee, WI
What’ s going on with kids these days?”
As a middle school head, it’ s a question I get asked a lot. By parents. By community members. And, yes, even by teachers. Educators are seeing a broader range of neurodiversity in their classrooms than ever before. Some of this shift reflects improved diagnostic processes and reduced stigma; other factors are environmental. As Jonathan Haidt explains in The Anxious Generation, a“ phone-based childhood” has fragmented the attention and heightened the anxiety of an entire generation.
But for all the notes we sound puzzling out“ why,” the resulting song remains the same: many of our students arrive with learning profiles that make traditional schooling a steep uphill climb. Helping these students feel a genuine sense of belonging is essential to furthering their academic growth and social well-being. To promote belonging, school communities, classroom norms, and pedagogy should be intentionally designed with neurodivergent students in mind.
Beyond the Norm: The Power of the Umwelt
One of the most helpful frameworks I’ ve found for understanding neurodiversity comes from an unlikely source: sensory biology. In An Immense World, Ed Yong explains that every animal is enclosed within its own“ Umwelt,” a unique“ sensory bubble” that allows it to perceive only a tiny
Page 12 Summer 2026 CSEE Connections