Empowering neurodivergent people through understanding and conversation
Empowering neurodivergent people through understanding and conversation
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[…]
Some neurodivergent children can be very particular about routines, the position of items, which clothing items should be worn together, and other non-sensory specifics. (Sensory needs are a separate issue). These things can appear inconsequential to other people, and may be considered indicative of OCD. A number of young neurodivergent people are even diagnosed as having OCD. How many of these diagnoses are accurate is questionable. The DSM-5 specifically defines Obsessive Compulsive Disorder as not[…]
Because neurodivergencies are generally based on a deficit model, the focus of many medical professionals is to “fix” what they think they can. What this means is that a diagnosis focuses on what a person can’t do – in comparison to an average neurotypical person – rather than on their strengths. It also rarely takes into account that many neurotypical people aren’t strong across all areas of their lives either, but aren’t forced into therapies[…]
There are many tricky elements of neurodivergence that can – and potentially should – be addressed, without this being perceived as forcing neurotypicality or not being neuroaffirming. Usually, the measure of this can be whether overcoming this hurdle is of benefit to the neurodivergent person’s self-esteem and happiness. This might include helping a person with dyslexia learn to read to the best of their ability to allow them to succeed in neurotypical society, or teaching[…]
