Neurodiversity in Montessori: How to Support a Child Without Taking Over

Neurodiverzita v montessori: Jak podpořit dítě, aniž bychom za něj převzali iniciativu

20. 8. 2026

In a classroom, it’s not hard to notice a child who needs help. It’s far harder to know what kind of help will actually benefit them. Adults have a natural tendency to step in, explain, remind, and solve. But well-intentioned help can sometimes take away a child’s chance to figure things out on their own.

Radka Jandová, head of the elementary program at Montessori Andílek, spoke about this delicate line, part of her broader focus on neurodiversity in Montessori. She has extensive experience working with children ages 6 to 12 in a Montessori environment, and her work also focuses on supporting neurodivergent children and children with special educational needs. Whether it’s a child with ADHD, dyslexia, dysgraphia, or other needs, she says the starting point is always the same: observe carefully.

Observe the Child First, Look for Solutions Second

In Montessori, observation isn’t just about watching what a child does. We want to know when they manage to focus, what distracts them, when frustration sets in, or in which situations they need more support.

There’s a difference between saying “this child is anxious” and noticing that a child reacts anxiously during, say, a fast transition from one activity to another. In the first case, we’ve labeled the child. In the second, we already have something to work with. Maybe they need more time, an advance heads-up, or a more predictable rhythm to the day.

In the same way, a child with ADHD doesn’t necessarily just need more supervision. What might actually help is a quieter spot, fewer distracting stimuli, the option to move, or the chance to work with headphones. What works for one child won’t necessarily work for another. That’s why the way forward is found mainly through observation.

Help That Leads to Independence

As an example, take a nine-year-old boy who met with an assistant every morning to go through his work together. One day he told the assistant he didn’t need that much help anymore. He wanted to work on his own. What he did need was a plan he could use to orient himself through the day. It’s a simple example, but it captures the real point of support in Montessori. We shouldn’t withdraw help from a child overnight, just as we shouldn’t arrange everything for them either. What we’re looking for is the right level of support, one that lets them accomplish as much as possible through their own effort.

The same goes for the assistant’s role. They should stay close enough to recognize when stepping in is genuinely needed, but far enough away that the child gets a chance to try something first. If help is available at every small hesitation, a child gets used to it very quickly.

Sometimes Changing the Environment Is Enough

Support doesn’t have to mean a complicated individual program. Often, fairly small changes are enough: a predictable routine, a simple visual schedule, a quiet spot a child can retreat to for a moment, or a way to reduce background noise.

A classroom, for example, should have a calm corner with cushions, emotion cards, and other tools that can help children settle down. And measures like these don’t have to be reserved for a child with a specific diagnosis. Everyone can use them, and that’s exactly the point. If a child with dysgraphia needs a slanted writing surface, we can offer that same option to the whole group. If headphones help someone, we don’t need to make a big deal out of it. Different ways of working can simply become a natural part of the classroom.

No One Supports a Child Alone

Good support doesn’t come only from the relationship between a child and an assistant. Guides, parents, specialists, and other children all matter. Parents see the child at home, the guide sees them in the classroom, and a specialist can offer a different perspective and concrete strategies. And the child themselves can often tell us what helps, if we give them the space to do so.

Classmates play a big role too. In a mixed-age Montessori classroom, children naturally learn from one another. A child who needs help with writing today might help a younger classmate with math tomorrow. That way, they don’t stay stuck in the role of someone who always needs help, they also get to experience their own ability to offer something to others.

Every Child Needs Something a Little Different

Inclusion doesn’t mean that every child has to do the same thing in the same way. It means creating an environment where different children have the chance to find a path that makes sense for them.

Some children can plan out a whole week of work; for others, a plan like that would be overwhelming. For those children, a guide might offer just two or three options and only decide on the next step once the first piece of work is finished. One child needs to work in silence for a while, another needs to run around first. Some children seek out adult support for longer, while others will tell us themselves when they don’t need it anymore.

That’s exactly why, when it comes to neurodiversity in Montessori, there’s no single instruction manual for working with neurodivergent children. But there is one thing we can always start with: observing the child, listening to them, and looking for the kind of help that lets them gradually manage more on their own.

You can watch Radka Jandová’s full talk in English here: