What is neurodivergent-affirming care?
Neurodivergent-affirming is becoming a more common buzz word, but what does it really mean?
We’ve come up with a few core aspects that we feel are a good start to guiding neurodivergent-affirming practice.
This list will of course continue to evolve as our understanding evolves.
Core Aspects of Neurodivergent-Affirming Care
Closely listening to Autistic voices & experiences for guidance, and giving greater weight to research that works collaboratively with Autistic individuals.
Applying Autistic insight based on the above with our clinical insight & training to inform best practice, with continual re-evaluation based on evolving information & understanding.
*Offering various modalities of communication based on the needs & processing style of the individual we’re serving.
Orienting our practice around the holistic well-being of the individual (rather than compliance-based approaches, or one that incorporates **neuro-normative assumptions of health & wellness).
Working collaboratively with our autistic clients, being mindful of the sense of authority our credentials can bring, & emphasizing the importance of the individual’s expertise in their own unique nervous system & personhood.
Honoring, above all, the individual’s right to self-determination.
*Examples of different modalities of communication: Using visuals, written vs. face-to-face verbal dialogue, communicating in specifics rather than vague language with inferred meaning, longer pauses to accommodate slower processing time…or whatever works for the individual!
** Neuro-normative assumptions of health & wellness: An assumption that there is a general standard that is healthy for all individuals. For example, assuming that it is healthy to have several friends and to see them often.
Many autistic individuals feel satisfied with one or two friends who they see less frequently. Feeling pressure to have more friends who they may not genuinely connect with, or to see friends more frequently may actually cause harm to the individual.
Spending a lot of time in social settings in which they don’t feel comfortable being their authentic self, or feeling internal (or external) pressure to mask, can cause stress and exhaustion.
Masking, or trying to hide their autistic traits to appear more neurotypical, has been shown to be related to poorer mental health outcomes.