Quirky Infinity logo Empowering neurodivergent people through understanding and conversation

More Than Quirky

Empowering neurodivergent people through understanding and conversation

More Than Quirky

Empowering neurodivergent people through understanding and conversation

Definitions and Explanations

ABA and Company – Traumatic Therapies

One of the greatest concerns to adults within the autistic community – both autistic people, and parents who have experience and have seen the consequences – is how consistently the medical / health system promotes therapies for autistic children such as Applied Behaviour Analysis (ABA). And while many practitioners will claim there are crucial and marked differences, many other therapies follow a similar approach, including:  What Are They? These therapies all tend to engage a[…]...

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Not Refusing: School Can’t

School Can’t is still generally known as School Refusal in political, medical, and educational circles, unfortunately. However the understanding is that children who experience this are not refusing to go to school, or refusing to try. They simply can’t. Your child can’t do it easily. They can’t even try without immense effort. And often they can’t go at all. What is School Can’t? School refusal is a type of school attendance problem characterised by a[…]...

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Borderline Personality Disorder

TRIGGER WARNING: Mentions of self-harm and suicide. Like many differences that have been listed in the DSM without objective review for a very long time, Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) is not what it sounds like. While the name implies that the condition is a flaw in a person’s personality, the disorder is actually a complex response to trauma.  There is a push to reconsider the name, if only to prevent additional complications caused by negative[…]...

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Sign Language in Australia: International Day of Sign Languages

Today is the International Day of Sign Languages. While most people are aware that sign language (visual-manual coded language) exists, many are under the impression that “sign language” is a universal language. It is estimated that there are over 200 individual sign languages in the world. Many of these include dialects / regional differences. Sign languages are considered by linguists to be natural languages, in that they have emerged and developed organically. Sign language is[…]...

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World Suicide Prevention Day 2024

WARNING: This article contains references to suicide, suicidal ideation, and the expression of suicidal thoughts. Please do not continue if this is likely to cause you intolerable distress, or negatively impact your own mental health or wellbeing. If you do read this article and need support, there are phone numbers and links at the bottom of the page. Mental health and neurodivergence go hand in hand for multiple reasons. Firstly, many mental health conditions are[…]...

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The Umbrella Term: Are Neurodivergence and Autism the Same?

The term “neurodivergent” covers many, many neurological differences. It is not a synonym for autistic, nor for ADHD. However, it does cover these neurotypes and therefore saying “Joe is neurodivergent” if Joe is autistic is accurate. That doesn’t mean, however, that you are being clear and specifying that Joe is autistic. You could equally be assumed to mean that Joe has depression, or Joe is dyspraxic, etc. “Neurodivergence” or “neurodivergent” have increasingly been used as[…]...

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Childhood Apraxia of Speech

When one of my kids was about 6 or 7, a friend of hers who I hadn’t met thanks to the COVID restrictions of the previous year or two, had some time off school for something unrelated to their health. When they came back to school my child was elated. They called out to each other from opposite sides of the road and waved. My kiddo ran through the school gate happily, to see her[…]...

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Not Just Dancing Letters: Dyslexia

Like many (most?!) neurodivergencies, dyslexia comes with all kinds of incorrect stereotypes and assumptions. It wasn’t that long ago that the belief was that dyslexic people simply experienced letters jumping around the page, or the occasional letter presented in mirror image. What is now known about dyslexia is far more detailed, provides far greater understanding of the disability, and gives better direction for support and potential improvement. Is Dyslexia a Disability? In Australia, under the[…]...

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Is Epilepsy a Neurodivergence?

When people discuss neurodivergence, many people assume they’re talking about autism or ADHD. However, the umbrella of neurodivergence covers many, many neurological differences, including epilepsy. The classification of epilepsy as a neurodivergence has been debated. Some believe it is a neurological disorder – as it has clear medical symptoms and treatments – opposed to a neurodivergence. The fact it can be diagnosed using scans such as EEG is often considered the point of difference. Epilepsy[…]...

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Language and Terminology

An element of becoming part of the neurodivergent community is recognising how rubbish society is, in general, at using appropriate language and terminology. Using neurodivergent and neurodiverse interchangeably. Tending to use person-first language. Confusing “support needs” with “severity”. Most of the time it is not done with malice. Often the mistakes are even made with active good intentions – in most disability fields, person-first language is preferred, for example. I made many of these errors[…]...

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