A talented and passionate aviator built a life-size 737 simulator in his garage. It was used by airline pilots. But his dream of joining them one day on the flight deck never eventuated.
The pilot would have given anything to get his commercial licence and fly with the airlines, says friend, fellow pilot, and specialist educator, Sarah Sharpe.
“But when he came to sit his commercial exam, he really, really struggled. He just couldn’t get past it,” she says.
“Yet his simulator was so realistic that some local ATPL pilots, before moving from turbo-props to the jet fleet, came to fly hours on it.”
This combination of innate ability in some areas and struggling in others is extremely common among those who are ‘neurodiverse’, says Sarah.
Neurodiversity – the prevalence of conditions like ADHD, autism, and dyslexia – is about 15 percent among the general population.
Sarah believes it’s even higher among aviators and aviation engineers.
A good instructor, she says, needs to understand the various ways people learn best.
Advice for instructors
Dee Bond is a flight instructor, commercial and competition pilot, and in her ‘spare’ time, she co-owns an aviation business.
She also has dyslexia.
“It’s not a barrier to becoming a pilot,” Dee says. “But it did require me to build a toolset to manage the issues dyslexia presents.
“Instructors can help with this. A great start is realising that what is ‘normal’ for you, might not be for someone else.”
Dee suggests that instructors customise their lessons to suit the learning styles of their students.
“And if what you’re trying isn’t working, switch up the activity or engagement, or change the learning environment,” she says.
The CFI at Wanganui Aero Club, Jonathan Mauchline, agrees.
“I tend to deal practically with each student, rather than having a set plan for everyone,” he says.
“This means teaching on a personal level, in line with what makes that student ‘tick’, and tailoring the lesson to them as much as I can. As a result, all my lessons are a bit different.”
Jonathan says every student will lean more to either the practical or theoretical side of aviation, but with neurodiverse students, the effect is amplified.
“Students with dyslexia often struggle with theory but tend to exhibit strong practical abilities.
“The opposite is true for those with dyspraxia.
“An instructor just needs to focus on the ability, not the disability.”
Jonathan changes the emphasis of the lesson to suit the needs of his students.
“In some cases, it might make more sense to lead with a story or real-world scenario that introduces the exercise, then skip or brush over the theoretical part. And then really focus in on the practical training, and only after the flight, circle back to the theory.
“Once they’ve seen it in the real world – the ‘what’ and the ‘how’ – they’re far more likely to understand the ‘why’,” he says.
For other students, Jonathan fosters the principles of flight before anything else.
“The understanding of theory comes more naturally to them. For example, they might add power because they know they should, even if they can’t quite feel it yet.”
Flight examiner Nathan Clarke also customises his lesson plans for every pupil.
“I start by asking each student which learning methods they prefer, or I try a few different ones and see what works for them,” he says.
“Every student, whether they are neurodivergent or neurotypical, will have a preferred way of learning.
“They might respond better to something written down, or listening, or they might have a ‘kinaesthetic’ style which means they learn through hands-on instruction.”
As it’s important to get right, Nathan advises instructors spend as much time as they need to work out which mode their student learns best through.
Once Jonathan Mauchline has worked this part out, he has an arsenal of tools to help teach his students.
“For each topic, I aim to have a one-liner explanation, a theoretical explanation, an analogy, a practical example, a real-life story, and a good question,” he says.
This individual touch means Jonathan dislikes the term ‘instructor’. “It’s too impersonal,” he says.
Nathan agrees. “‘Instructor’ implies I say something, and you have to do it.”
“It’s not the right mentality.”
Empathetic teaching
Nathan says his neurodiverse students are often anxious at exam time.
“As the pressures of flight and theory examinations build up, they can get more nervous than other students might.”
Sarah says this is understandable as the traditional way of learning, or conducting exams and tests, is not compatible with the strengths of neurodivergent people.
“The education system has very often failed them,” she says.
"In fact, quite a number have left school early, because they knew they wouldn’t pass their exams.
“Instructors can make a really big difference by being patient, being open to others’ reality, and not being dismissive.”
Sarah says she does understand how instructors might get frustrated sometimes.
“For instance, if they’ve explained something several times and the student still isn’t getting it, or something is written in the book and the student is just not picking it up.
“That’s the point where, as an instructor, you can step back and ask yourself, ‘Why are they finding this so hard?’
“Have that conversation with them and see if you can do it differently.”
Nathan says the best thing instructors can do is create a welcoming space.
“It should be a comfortable, calm, and safe environment for students to learn in,” he says.
“Providing positive feedback and constructive criticism makes all the difference for quickly building a student’s confidence and flying ability.
“You work with the student to understand their emotional state, and find ways to build self-awareness and coping mechanisms. This way you improve performance and resilience.”
There are plenty of resources online for instructors who are interested in learning about neurodiversity, says Nathan.
“You can also find a mentor to help you better understand how to use the best teaching methods.”
An asset to aviation
Nathan says neurodiverse students are often very naturally gifted.
“They tend to have innate flying skills in the physical aspects of flight, and practical hands-on areas of aviation.”
Sarah agrees.
“A neurodiverse student told me recently, ‘I can pull an engine apart, and put it back together without instructions. Somehow I can just visualise – I know how it’s meant to go.’”
She hears stories like this all the time.
“Neurodiverse people are a real asset to any company,” she says.
“They’re such out-of-the-box thinkers. They’re often the ones who are going to problem-solve, innovate, and really add value.”
But Sarah worries that barriers are too high for some of them, like her friend who built the simulator. And the industry also misses out.
“Aviation will be richer if we acknowledge and cater for neurodiversity in our community.”
More information
Read the instructional theory section in the Flight Instructor Guide.