The word “neurodivergent” is an umbrella term that encompasses a wide range of learning and behavioral differences, such as ADHD and autism.
Neurodivergent students often have compounding learning differences. For instance, a student with ADHD might struggle academically, with organizing their schedule, and with connecting to their peers.
Neurodivergent students generally benefit from:
- Personalized teaching, where a teacher can focus on both their strengths and where they have opportunities.
- A dedicated personal development curriculum that focuses on executive functioning skills, like organization and emotional regulation.
- Expert support staff, counselors, and therapists who understand the needs of neurodivergent students.
- A small student to teacher ratio. A large class makes it hard, if not impossible, to deliver personalized learning.
Best Schools for Neurodivergent Students
- Fusion Academy
- Heron School
- Brighthouse Learning Academy
- KORE Academy
- New Mexico Connections Academy
- The Grace School
- The Pilot School
- Trailhead Community Farm School
1. Fusion Academy
Best School for Neurodivergent Students
Fusion Academy is a private middle and high school that has over 80 campuses across the US, including California, Texas, New York and Pennsylvania.
At Fusion, we take a holistic approach to supporting neurodivergent students, in two ways:
- We focus on supporting all students who learn differently, regardless of their particular diagnosis.
- We acknowledge that the challenges neurodiverse students face are all interconnected, encompassing academics, mental health, executive function, and social life. We aim to develop the whole student, in all of those areas together.
Fusion doesn’t think of neurodiverse education in terms of trying to “fix” students or deal with one specific “issue” that they have. Our goal is to understand what’s working for an individual student and help them do more of that. These strategies aren’t just limited to one particular learning difference.
Strengths-Based Approach
We see neurodivergence as an asset, not as a deficit. For example, if a particular student has ADHD, we don’t focus on making them learn like everyone else. Instead, we celebrate their creativity because of their ADHD — not in spite of it.
Where other schools would focus on a student’s limitations, we focus on their strengths and interests. We’re constantly looking for ways to understand what lights each student up, so that we can get them engaged in the learning process.
We apply our knowledge of each student’s strengths to inform which modalities would best support their interests and needs. Let’s say that a particular student loves creative board games. With that student, we might look to play board games that involve math, or use gamified flashcards in class. Outside the classroom, we might look to connect them to the students who host a board game club.
We find that this strengths-based approach makes students more excited to come to school. And, we hear from parents that their children are also calmer and less frustrated at home.
Classroom Structure That’s Personalized to Students’ Specific Needs
At Fusion, classes are 1-to-1, meaning one student to every teacher in each class. This applies to the vast majority of courses we offer: whether they’re high school or middle school level, full-time or part-time, in-person or online.
1-to-1 classes are helpful for neurodivergent students in a number of ways:
- Teachers can immediately recognize when a student becomes dysregulated and address their needs to de-escalate the student. This prevents the student from exhibiting more challenging behaviors.
- Teachers and students can form a deep bond, where the teacher gets to know the student extremely well and develops an excellent understanding of their needs and preferences.
Unique Personal Development Curriculum
Beyond our regular full-time and part-time programs, we offer a personal development curriculum which contains a number of courses that are an excellent fit for neurodivergent students. For example:
- Our Executive Skills course supports the development of executive functioning skills. These might include how to use a planner, how to prioritize tasks, or how to regulate your emotions. The exact skills learned vary from student to student, based on student needs, interests, and goals.
- Our Community Minds course helps students integrate socially. This is particularly helpful for neurodiverse students who may exhibit behaviors that make it difficult for them to connect with others. Skills covered include observing social cues, building and maintaining friendships, and recognizing the impact their behavior has on other people.
- Our Life Skills course aims to build students’ life readiness through coursework around topics such as goal setting, independent living, civic-mindedness, and personal finance.
Beyond these courses, we also offer private tutoring and mentoring. Like our other programs, this is 1-to-1. If a neurodivergent student has a particular academic subject they want support in, or need mentoring around skill development in non-academic aspects of their life, there’s always someone to turn to.
Expert Teachers Who Prioritize Student Well-Being
The number one priority in Fusion classrooms is the safety of our students. Our teachers are aware that some neurodivergent students may have suffered trauma due to past educational experiences or events outside of school, and go out of their way to treat that sensitively.
Our approach is informed by Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. This states that an individual must first address their basic security needs before being able to do anything else. We don’t believe in pushing students to achieve academically without first making sure they feel secure, safe, and cared for.
Teachers provide daily summaries of each class for each student, highlighting what happened and how they’re meeting their goals. We send these to parents to keep them informed about each student’s progress. Our summaries are always strength-based and include positive shout-outs on students’ academic, social, and/or emotional progress.
An Ecosystem of Support
Classroom teachers are just one part of the broader ecosystem of support that Fusion provides for neurodivergent students.
This support begins from the very first day that a student arrives at Fusion. We organize a meeting between parents and the Head of School to delve into the student’s background. We ask questions like:
- What was your child’s previous experience at school like?
- What is your child interested in?
- Which parts of that experience worked for them? Which didn’t?
- Is there a particular teacher who was able to support and connect with your child? What did that relationship look like?
- How often does your child act out emotionally? What are the triggers for that?
On the basis of that conversation, we create individualized learning plans for each student.
We also take a student snapshot, which is a summary of a student’s test scores, interests and how their brain processes information. We share this with our teachers so that they can quickly get up to speed with how best to support them.
Each student gets assigned a Lead Mentor, who is responsible for both their academic progress and their social well-being.
In cases where a student has a therapist or a counselor, we’ll also share information with them bi-directionally so that both parties are in the best position to support the student. Of course, we won’t do this without first asking for parental consent.
Helping Neurodivergent Students Socialize and Make Connections
At Fusion, there are several ways for our students to socialize and make connections, either on campus or through our online program.
First, students will have scheduled time to do their school work in the Quiet Homework Café. This is a space dedicated for school work or similar activities. Students can work together on the same type of school work or simply work side by side.
Second, we have the Social Homework Café. This is where students will meet for lunch, and it’s also where club meetings and events happen. The clubs we offer at Fusion vary from campus to campus, as students start clubs based on their interests. For example, our campuses have clubs such as DnD club, chess club, student government, running club, and more.
While there may be a few exceptions, the student body at a Fusion campus is quite small — between 15 to 100 full-time students. This small student body lets us create a tight-knight community for our students. It can also help prevent neurodivergent students from becoming socially overwhelmed with the size of their campus.
Preparing a Neurodivergent Student for Life after High School
A student’s neurodivergent thinking is not a problem to be solved, but an aspect of their identity. It will continue after high school, whether they go straight to college/university or they take a gap year or look for work or an internship.
At Fusion, we help students prepare for the next step in several ways.
First, we offer different types of classes, including:
- College Preparatory Courses
- Honors Courses
- AP® Courses (where students can earn college credit, based on AP exam scores)
- Essentials Courses
The first three are geared towards college preparation, while the last one, our Essentials course, is ideal for students whose main focus is getting their high school diploma.
Second, we offer post-secondary counseling services, which can include:
- Post-secondary planning
- Resume creation and building
- Course selection
- College prep timeline review
- SAT/ACT testing timeline review
- Practice SAT/ACT test support
- Help with applying for scholarships and financial aid
- Help with reviewing and completing college applications
- College admissions interview preparation
Learn More About Fusion Academy
If you’re interested in learning more about Fusion Academy, you can:
- Request more information
- See a full list of our campuses
- View all of our current academic programs
- View tuition and fees
- Learn about transferring to Fusion Academy
2. Heron School
Heron School is a private school in Moab, UT that educates neurodivergent students between grades 5 and 12. The school specializes in autism, dyslexia, ADHD, and executive functioning challenges, but is set up to support other learning differences as well.
When they arrive at Heron, each student receives an Individualized Education Plan, which outlines their strengths, interests, and any specific accommodations needed. Lower school students typically focus more on academic play and exploration, while students in the upper school are required to spend time developing a path for after high school.
The academic environment at Heron differs significantly from a typical school. Students only attend school 4 days a week, and classes are small, with a ratio of 6 students per teacher. In lieu of grades, students are evaluated on the basis of a Mastery Transcript, which takes into account online coursework, skills acquired, and a portfolio of work.
3. Brighthouse Learning Academy
Brighthouse Learning Academy is a small, family-run school in Abita Springs, LA which serves neurodivergent students in grades 5 through 12. Brighthouse specializes in 2e students and students with ADHD, but it’s an extremely welcoming environment and also celebrates those with autism, Asperger’s, dyscalculia, and dysgraphia.
This is a school that’s invested in constantly updating how it serves neurodivergent students. Brighthouse launched new premises in the 2024/25 school year, and consistently integrates the latest research on socio-emotional learning and metacognition into its teaching. Staff use a combination of cutting-edge visual and kinesthetic teaching methods to help students learn to think critically, build relationships, and self-regulate emotionally.
To ensure that students have a rigorous education, the school adheres to Louisiana State Standards and Benchmarks. However, Brighthouse has some flexibility when it comes to implementing those standards. For example, instead of a typical school schedule, Brighthouse runs Monday through Thursday from 8am to 2pm, with Fridays reserved for extracurricular activities or optional weekend events.
4. KORE Academy
Based in Lexington, KY, KORE Academy is a school for neurodiverse students in grades K–12. KORE stands for “Kids Obtaining Real Education,” which is a testament to the parents who started the school after being dissatisfied with how their children’s learning needs were being met in a traditional classroom.
KORE is a small school, with fewer than 50 students educated out of Tates Creek Christian Church in Lexington. Since there are only about 4 students for every teacher, staff have time to create Individualized Learning Plans for each student.
KORE’s classes are blended, meaning that students are grouped according to ability, rather than solely by grade level. There’s an emphasis on technological literacy, with students being given their own devices from elementary level onwards. The curriculum is based on Kentucky state requirements, and comprises subjects like history, literature, language, science, and math. Additionally, students can take electives that align with their unique interests and needs.
5. New Mexico Connections Academy
New Mexico Connections Academy (NMCA) is an online public school that was set up to support students in grades 4–12 who need an alternative to a traditional classroom environment. Having lessons online allows students a lot of freedom to set up their schedules as they please, including necessary breaks, time for emotional re-regulation, or pursuing any extracurricular interests they have.
Parents play a hands-on role in the education process at NMCA. Each student’s classes are based on an individualized learning plan that’s created jointly by their parents and teachers. Parents are further expected to create a safe and stimulating learning environment at home, as well as use an online scheduling tool to help students structure their school day.
For neurodivergent students who have two or more IEPs, NMCA is able to modify the curriculum to provide any accommodations needed. For example, on the basis of consultation with parents, the school can increase or decrease the amount of direct instruction, or provide access to services like counseling or therapy.
6. The Grace School
Based in Fayetteville, AR, The Grace School supports neurodivergent students aged 5–21 who have fallen through the cracks in a traditional school environment. The school welcomes students with all learning styles, with a particular focus on students with autism spectrum disorders (ASD).
The curriculum for each student at The Grace School is designed on an individualized basis, following a consultation with parents at the beginning of the process. Typically, students are taught a mixture of academic and social skills, with a particular emphasis on creating space for them to discover their unique gifts. Classrooms are small, with just six students per teacher, and are set up to cater to students with sensory challenges.
The therapeutic part of the support provided at The Grace School is based on Applied Behavior Analysis. All staff are trained to use this to measure growth towards academic, social, pre-vocational, and self-skills. If required, the school can also offer ways to build pediatric and speech-language therapies into students’ schedules.
7. The Pilot School
The Pilot School is a school in Wilmington, DE for students aged 4–14 who have language-based learning disabilities. Learning differences supported include dyslexia, ADHD, Auditory Processing Disorder, and Executive Function Disorder.
Rather than being sorted into grades, students at The Pilot School are assigned to one of three divisions, based on their level of academic and social skills. Each student receives an individualized curriculum, which typically includes a mixture of reading, writing, spelling, math, and speaking. With a student-teacher ratio of 5:1, each student gets the personalized attention they need to succeed.
The school employs a range of different psychologists, speech-language therapists, occupational therapists, and counselors. Students are able to see these experts as needed, either one-to-one or in a small group setting. The therapeutic support team also spends a lot of time poring over the latest research in educational psychology so that teaching methods consistently reflect best practices.
8. Trailhead Community Farm School
Trailhead Community Farm School (TCFS) is a year-round school for neurodivergent students in Greenville, SC. The school views itself as an alternative to a residential program, and provides a mixture of academic, therapeutic, and social support services.
The curriculum at TCFS is based on a combination of South Carolina State Standards and the experiential learning ideas of John Dewey. Academically, there’s a mixture of traditional subjects like English, Math and Science, together with psychology-based instruction in mindfulness and social skills. TCFS teaches these skills using visual, auditory and kinesthetic methods, and the school also regularly engages in field trips.
TCFS’ outdoor setting gives neurodivergent students a unique learning experience. The school is based on a farm, with 21 acres of land providing numerous outdoor learning spaces. Students frequently go hiking in the woods, or spend hours on the large field at the back of the property. The school even has its own therapy animals: 3 dogs and a rabbit.
Find the Right School for Your Neurodivergent Child
We hope that there’s a school in this list that’s in your local area and can cater to the unique educational needs of your neurodivergent child.
If you’re in one of the 18 states with a Fusion campus, and you’re curious about how our strengths-based approach can support neurodivergent learners, reach out to us to learn more! We’d love to hear from you.
