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Neurodiversity-Affirming Practice
Guidelines for collaborating with learners to support their autonomy, self-advocacy, and self-determination.
Promote Neurodivergent Voices to Ensure Responsible Practice
Individuals who have experienced various therapy approaches firsthand offer valuable insights into their effectiveness and potential harm. It is essential for these techniques to receive support and validation from the communities they aim to serve. Relying solely on an evidence base should not be the sole determinant of a therapy's appropriateness.
Presume Competence
Presuming competence is based upon two principles:
Everyone has something to communicate
Everyone has the capacity to think, learn, and understand the world
Respect Bodily Autonomy
Every individual possesses the right to autonomy over their own body and the freedom to give or withhold consent for physical support. Rather than employing hand-over-hand methods, hand-under-hand techniques can be used to offer guidance and assistance while respecting this autonomy.
Validate All Forms of Communication
As humans, we communicate through various modalities, utilizing spoken words alongside other forms of expression. No single mode of communication is inherently superior to others. Language modeling should be tailored to accommodate and optimize the preferences of each learner, regardless of their chosen mode of communication.
Affirm Safety & Regulation Over Compliance
Learning can thrive only in an environment where the learner feels safe and regulated. The co-regulation model aims to adjust the surroundings to create the best possible conditions for the learner's growth and development.
Promote Strength-Based, Neurodiversity-Informed, Learner-Focused Care
The interests, strengths, and passions of learners take precedence. Variances in communication styles are acknowledged and respected rather than viewed as shortcomings. Both neurodiverse communication partners share equal responsibility for addressing communication breakdowns.
Maintain a Low/No-Demand Approach
Minimizing or removing demands helps alleviate anxiety, fostering comfort and, consequently, facilitating growth. The learner's environment is adapted to accommodate their needs, with the elimination of reward-punishment approaches.
While these approaches were developed with neurodivergent learners in mind, they benefit learners of all neurotypes. Please see the Neurodiversity page to review more about Neurodivergent learners.
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