Neurodiversity and Digital Inclusion: Creating the Conditions for Inclusive Education through UDL

Digital technologies are often positioned as tools for access and differentiation, yet their role in creating neurodiversity-affirming inclusive classrooms remains underexamined. This article reports on a two-phase Australian study exploring how digital technologies can create the conditions for inclusive education when guided by the Universal Design for Learning framework. Grounded in the neurodiversity paradigm, critical disability studies and participatory approaches, the study examined how technology can support engagement, representation, action and expression for neurodivergent learners. Phase one involved a rapid mixed-methods literature review of research published over the past decade, combining thematic analysis with chi-squared tests to examine patterns across neurotypes, technologies and inclusive practices. Phase two comprised qualitative case studies across six Australian schools, drawing on classroom observations and interviews with neurodivergent and neurotypical students, teachers and school leaders from Foundation to Year 10. Findings indicate that digital technologies are most inclusive when used to expand learner agency, flexibility, communication and collaboration, rather than to enforce compliance or manage behaviour. Students benefited from tools that scaffolded executive functioning, supported communication, reduced anxiety and offered multiple ways to demonstrate understanding. However, inconsistent implementation, inaccessible design and narrow pedagogical purposes sometimes reinforced exclusion. The study culminated in 36 high-impact recommendations for educators, schools and technology designers. These recommendations emphasise the integration of physical and digital tools, the centring of student voice and the creation of psychologically safe learning environments. The article argues that inclusive digital practice requires a shift from technology as remediation to technology as a means of designing for access, participation and belonging.