# data[].attributes.attachment_caption
from a series of paintings where I explored my viewpoint in various settings. this one became without trying to be- the setting of my creativity. i have let myself learn my process of art making over time. i never was one to mimic or perfect based on another's example. i get inspired by others and then try to do it my way, from the place of my own inquiry and joy and lived experiences.  

# data[].attributes.body
Lex

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Find peace and stability with this friendly, full-color, illustrated workbook guide filled with practical and creative exercises designed to improve your mental health and encourage healthy coping mechanisms.

Dialectical behavior therapy, or DBT, is a revolutionary treatment that helps people identify, cope with, and move through emotions. Art therapy uses creativity and techniques like drawing to help a person further explore their feelings and express them. What happens when you link them together? You get The Big Feelings Survival Guide, a unique and powerful workbook designed to yield insight and understanding.

Covering the three classic "parent emotions"-Anger, Fear, Sadness-the exercises are deceptively simple yet richly thought out, and each has a clinical underpinning. Draw a safe space for yourself. Scribble out angry impulses. Explore the mind-body connection by matching emotions with somatic sensations. Embrace confusion by working through a maze with different paths. Act out rebellious urges by painting a messy rainbow. Plus tips, games, and other practical help.

There is no wrong way to use this book. No art skills required. Just work through it with honesty and discover practical skills to help you engage in self-care, cope with life, and take care of your mental health.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
The Big Feelings Survival Guide: A Creative Workbook for Mental Health (74 DBT and Art Therapy Exercises)

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
The Big Feelings Survival Guide: A Creative Workbook for Mental Health (74 DBT and Art Therapy Exercises): Ruriani, Alyse: 9781523515936: Books - Amazon.ca

# data[].attributes.body
Lex

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Did you know that Dialectical Behaviour Therapy skills can be useful for Autistic and ADHD individuals too?

As neurodivergent individuals, we often experience different types of distress from living in a society that isn't designed for our differences. It isn't just emotional distress but also meltdowns and sensory distress that we experience too. One of the best things we can do to support ourselves is manage our needs and respond to our distress in a way that works for us.

The best part? Each section is colour coordinated with an appealing colour to keep things colourful, engaging and sensory friendly. There's a whole bunch of different tools and worksheets too!

Not sure why you might want or need this workbook? Let me help you out. In this workbook, you can find skills to support you with:
This is where Dialectical Behaviour Therapy skills come in! Unfortunately, DBT skills aren't always accessible, straight-forward or neurodivergent friendly. That's why this workbook of DBT skills has been reframed to be neurodivergent affirming while incorporating sensory strategies, managing meltdowns, stimming and more. Written and designed by an autistic ADHDer, you can learn skills and tool using the five sections: It's also self-paced so if you're an individual, you can do it at home. If you're a professional, there's nothing stopping you from sharing this affirming workbook with a client or keeping this as a go to resource! About the author Sonny Jane (they/them) is multiply neurodivergent - or more specifically, an Autistic ADHDer living with Bipolar and in recovery with Borderline Personality Disorder. They're also an internationally recognised lived experience educator, consultant and advocate who's passionate about neurodiversity and supporting neurodivergent individuals.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
The Neurodivergent Friendly Workbook of DBT Skills

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
The Neurodivergent Friendly Workbook of DBT Skills [Wise, Sonny Jane] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. The Neurodivergent Friendly Workbook of DBT Skills

# data[].attributes.body
Shoutout to Emma, Nicole and Sarah <3

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.provider_name
NEUROQUEER * THE WRITINGS OF DR. NICK WALKER

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Nick Walker, PhD

I wrote the original version of "Throw Away the Master's Tools" in 2011, cobbling it together from a lot of things I'd posted in private online autistic discussion forums starting around 2004. The original version was published in 2012 in the anthology Loud Hands: Autistic People, Speaking. The version below is a considerably revised and improved one I put together in 2013.
This piece was originally written for an autistic audience, so it's specifically addressed to autistic readers and focused on what the shift from the pathology paradigm to the neurodiversity paradigm means in the context of the discourse on autism. Nonetheless, it serves as a good 101-level introduction to the neurodiversity paradigm for anyone, and readers over the past decade have found it a relatively easy matter to extrapolate from my autism-related examples and apply my analysis to the discourses on other pathologized neurocognitive styles. Although it seems embarassingly clunky to me today, "Throw Away the Master's Tools" remains one of the more significant things I've written, in terms of its long-term influence on the discourse. The conceptions of the pathology paradigm and the neurodiversity paradigm originally articulated in this piece are now integral to the fields of Neurodiversity Studies and Critical Autism Studies, fields which didn't exist yet when I wrote the thing. The definitive, citable version of this essay, along with supplementary background information and comments, can be found in my book When referencing my work, please remember that my pronouns are she/her. Neuroqueer Heresies
When it comes to human neurodiversity, the dominant paradigm in the world today is what I refer to as the pathology paradigm. The long-term well-being and empowerment of Autistics and members of other neurocognitive minority groups hinges upon our ability to create a paradigm shift - a shift from the pathology paradigm to the neurodiversity paradigm. Such a shift must happen internally, within the consciousness of individuals, and must also be propagated in the cultures in which we live.

So what does all that fancy talk mean? What are these paradigms of which I speak, and what does it mean to make a "shift" from one paradigm to another? This piece is an attempt to explain that, in plain language that I hope will make these concepts easily accessible.

What's a Paradigm, and What's a Paradigm Shift?

Even if you haven't encountered it in an academic context, you've probably heard the term paradigm before, because it's annoyingly overused by corporate marketers to describe any new development they're trying to get people excited about: A new paradigm in wireless technology! A new paradigm in sales hyperbole!

As a great Spanish diplomat once put it, I do not think it means what they think it means.

A paradigm is not just an idea or a method. A paradigm is a set of fundamental assumptions or principles, a mindset or frame of reference that shapes how one thinks about and talks about a given subject. A paradigm shapes the ways in which one interprets information, and determines what sort of questions one asks and how one asks them. A paradigm is a lens through which one views reality.

Perhaps the most simple and well-known example of a paradigm shift comes from the history of astronomy: the shift from the geocentric paradigm (which assumes that the Sun and planets revolve around Earth) to the heliocentric paradigm (Earth and several other planets revolve around the Sun). At the time this shift began, many generations of astronomers had already recorded extensive observations of the movements of planets. But now all their measurements meant something different. All the information had to be reinterpreted from an entirely new perspective. It wasn't just that questions had new answers - the questions themselves were different. Questions like "What is the path of Mercury's orbit around Earth?" went from seeming important to being outright nonsense, while other questions, that had never been asked because they would have seemed like nonsense under the old paradigm, suddenly became meaningful.

That's a true paradigm shift: a shift in our fundamental assumptions; a radical shift in perspective that requires us to redefine our terms, recalibrate our language, rephrase our questions, reinterpret our data, and completely rethink our basic concepts and approaches.

The Pathology Paradigm

A paradigm can often be boiled down to a few basic, general principles, although those principles tend to be far-reaching in their implications and consequences. The principles of a widely dominant sociocultural paradigm like the pathology paradigm usually take the form of assumptions - that is, they're so widely taken-for-granted that most people never consciously reflect upon them or articulate them (and sometimes it can be a disturbing revelation to hear them plainly articulated).

The pathology paradigm ultimately boils down to just two fundamental assumptions:

1. There is one "right," "normal," or "healthy" way for human brains and human minds to be configured and to function (or one relatively narrow "normal" range into which the configuration and functioning of human brains and minds ought to fall).

2. If your neurological configuration and functioning (and, as a result, your ways of thinking and behaving) diverge substantially from the dominant standard of "normal," then there is Something Wrong With You.

It is these two assumptions that define the pathology paradigm. Different groups and individuals build upon these assumptions in very different ways, with varying degrees of rationality, absurdity, fearfulness, or compassion - but as long as they share those two basic assumptions, they're still operating within the pathology paradigm (just as ancient Mayan astronomers and 13th Century Islamic astronomers had vastly different conceptions of the cosmos, yet both operated within the geocentric paradigm).

The psychiatric establishment that classifies Autism as a "disorder"; the "Autism charity" that calls Autism a "global health crisis"; Autism researchers who keep coming up with new theories of "causation"; scientifically illiterate wing nuts who believe that Autism is some form of "poisoning"; anyone who speaks of Autism using medicalized language like "symptom," "treatment," or "epidemic"; the mother who thinks that the best way to help her Autistic child is to subject him to Behaviorist "interventions" intended to train him to act like a "normal" child; the "inspiring" Autistic celebrity who advises other Autistics that the secret to success is to try harder to conform to the social demands of non-Autistics... all of these groups and individuals are operating within the pathology paradigm, regardless of their intentions or how much they might disagree with one another on various points.

The Neurodiversity Paradigm

Here's how I'd articulate the fundamental principles of the neurodiversity paradigm:

1. Neurodiversity - the diversity among minds - is a natural, healthy, and valuable form of human diversity.

2. There is no "normal" or "right" style of human mind, any more than there is one "normal" or "right" ethnicity, gender, or culture.

3. The social dynamics that manifest in regard to neurodiversity are similar to the social dynamics that manifest in regard to other forms of human diversity (e.g., diversity of race, culture, gender, or sexual orientation). These dynamics include the dynamics of social power relations - the dynamics of social inequality, privilege, and oppression - as well as the dynamics by which diversity, when embraced, acts as a source of creative potential within a group or society.

The Master's Tools Will Never Dismantle the Master's House

At an international feminist conference in 1979, the poet Audre Lorde delivered a speech entitled "The Master's Tools Will Never Dismantle the Master's House." In that speech, Lorde, a Black lesbian from a working-class immigrant family, castigated her almost entirely white and affluent audience for remaining rooted in, and continuing to propagate, the fundamental dynamics of the patriarchy: hierarchy, exclusion, racism, classism, homophobia, obliviousness to privilege, failure to embrace diversity. Lorde recognized sexism as being part of a broader, deeply-rooted paradigm that dealt with all forms of difference by establishing hierarchies of dominance, and she saw that genuine, widespread liberation was impossible as long as feminists continued to operate within this paradigm.

"What does it mean," Lorde said, "when the tools of a racist patriarchy are used to examine the fruits of that same patriarchy? It means that only the most narrow perimeters of change are possible and allowable. [...] For the master's tools will never dismantle the master's house. They may allow us temporarily to beat him at his own game, but they will never enable us to bring about genuine change."

The master's tools will never dismantle the master's house. To work within a system, to play by its rules, inevitably reinforces that system, whether or not that's what you intend. Not only do the master's tools never serve to dismantle the master's house, but any time you try to use the master's tools for anything, you somehow end up building another extension of that darned house.

Lorde's warning applies equally well, today, to the Autistic community and our fight for empowerment. The assumption that there is Something Wrong With Us is inherently disempowering, and that assumption is absolutely intrinsic to the pathology paradigm. So the "tools" of the pathology paradigm (by which I mean all strategies, goals, or ways of speaking or thinking that explicitly or implicitly buy into the pathology paradigm's assumptions) will never empower us in the long run. Genuine, lasting, widespread empowerment for Autistics can only be attained through making and propagating the shift from the pathology paradigm to the neurodiversity paradigm. We must throw away the master's tools.

The Language of Pathology vs. the Language of Diversity

Because the pathology paradigm has been dominant for some time, many people, even many who claim to advocate for the empowerment of autistic people, still habitually use language that's based in the assumptions of that paradigm. The shift from the pathology paradigm to the neurodiversity paradigm calls for a radical shift in language, because the appropriate language for discussing medical problems is quite different from the appropriate language for discussing diversity. The issue of "person-first language" is a good basic example to start with.

If a person has a medical condition, we might say that "she has cancer," or she's "a person with allergies," or "she suffers from ulcers." But when a person is a member of a historically marginalized group, we don't talk about their identity as though it were a disease. We say "she's Black," or "she's a lesbian." We recognize that it would be outrageously inappropriate-and likely to mark us as ignorant or bigoted-if we were to refer to a Black person as "having negroism" or being a "person with negroism," or if we were to say that someone "suffers from homosexuality."

So if we use phrases like "person with autism," or "she has autism," or "families affected by autism," we're using the language of the pathology paradigm-language that implicitly accepts and reinforces the assumption that autism is intrinsically a problem, a Something-Wrong-With-You. In the language of the neurodiversity paradigm, on the other hand, we speak of neurodiversity in the same way we would speak of ethnic or sexual diversity, and we speak of autistics in the same way we would speak of any other social minority group: I am autistic. I am an autistic. I am an autistic person. There are autistic people in my family.

These linguistic distinctions might seem trivial, but our language plays a key role in shaping our thoughts, our perceptions, our cultures, and our realities. In the long run, the sort of language that's used to talk about Autistics has enormous influence on how society treats us, and on the messages we internalize about ourselves. To describe ourselves in language that reinforces the pathology paradigm is to use the master's tools, in Audre Lorde's metaphor, and thus to imprison ourselves more deeply in the master's house.

I Don't Believe in Normal People

The concept of a "normal brain" or a "normal person" has no more objective scientific validity - and serves no better purpose - than the concept of a "master race." Of all the master's tools (i.e., the dynamics, language, and conceptual frameworks that create and maintain social inequities), the most powerful and insidious is the concept of "normal people." In the context of human diversity (ethnic, cultural, sexual, neurological, or any other sort), to treat one particular group as the "normal" or default group inevitably serves to privilege that group and to marginalize those who don't belong to that group.

The dubious assumption that there's such a thing as a "normal person" lies at the core of the pathology paradigm. The neurodiversity paradigm, on the other hand, does not recognize "normal" as a valid concept when it comes to human diversity.

Most reasonably well-educated people these days already recognize that the concept of "normal" is absurd and meaningless in the context of racial, ethnic, or cultural diversity. The Han Chinese constitute the single largest ethnic group in the world, but it would be ridiculous to claim that this makes Han Chinese the "natural" or "default" human ethnicity. The fact that a randomly-selected human is statistically far more likely to be Han Chinese than Irish does not make a Han Chinese more "normal" than an Irishman (whatever that would even mean).

The most insidious sort of social inequality, the most difficult sort of privilege to challenge, occurs when a dominant group is so deeply established as the "normal" or "default" group that it has no specific name, no label. The members of such a group are simply thought of as "normal people," "healthy people," or just "people" - with the implication that those who aren't members of that group represent deviations from that which is normal and natural, rather than equally natural and legitimate manifestations of human diversity.

For instance, consider the connotations of the statement "Gay people want the same rights as heterosexuals," versus the connotations of the statement "Gay people want the same rights as normal people." Simply by substituting the word normal for heterosexual, the second statement implicitly accepts and reinforces heterosexual privilege, and relegates gays to an inferior, "abnormal" status.

Now imagine if terms like heterosexual and straight didn't exist at all. That would put gay rights activists in the position of having to say things like "We want the same rights as normal people" - language that would reinforce their marginal, "abnormal" status and thus undermine their struggle. They'd be stuck using the master's tools. If terms like heterosexual and straight didn't exist, it would be necessary for gay rights activists to invent them.

This is why an essential early step in the neurodiversity movement was the coining of the term neurotypical. Neurotypical is to Autistic as straight is to gay. The existence of the word neurotypical makes it possible to have conversations about topics like neurotypical privilege. Neurotypical is a word that allows us to talk about members of the dominant neurological group without implicitly reinforcing that group's privileged position (and our own marginalization) by referring to them as "normal." The word normal, used to privilege one sort of human over others, is one of the master's tools, but the word neurotypical is one of our tools - a tool that we can use instead of the master's tool; a tool that can help us to dismantle the master's house.

The Vocabulary of Neurodiversity

The word neurotypical is an essential piece of the new vocabulary of neurodiversity that's beginning to emerge - that needs to emerge, if we are to free ourselves of the disempowering language of the pathology paradigm, and if we are to successfully propagate the neurodiversity paradigm in our own thinking and in the sphere of public discourse.

The word neurodiversity itself is of course the most essential piece of this new vocabulary. The essence of the entire paradigm - the understanding of neurological variation as a natural form of human diversity, subject to the same societal dynamics as other forms of diversity - is packed into that one word.

Another useful word is neurominority. Neurotypicals are the majority; Autistic people and dyslexic people are all examples of neurominorities. I'd like to see the term neurominority come into more widespread usage, because there's a need for it; there are a lot of topics in the discourse on neurodiversity that are much easier to talk about when one has a good, non-pathologizing word for referring to the various groups of people who aren't neurotypical.

Terms like neurodiversity, neurotypical, and neurominority allow us to talk and think about neurodiversity in ways that don't implicitly pathologize neurominority individuals. As we cultivate Autistic community and interact with other neurominority communities, and as we continue to generate writing and discussion on issues of relevance to us, more new language will emerge. Already, we've generated terms like stim and loud hands to describe important aspects of the Autistic experience. And in my own academic work, my studies of cross-cultural competence (the ability to interact and communicate skillfully with people from multiple cultures) have led me to begin using the term neurocosmopolitanism, which I hope will catch on widely.

It's also my hope that the terms neurodiversity paradigm and pathology paradigm will catch on and come into widespread usage. In the interest of clarity, it's useful to make the distinction between neurodiversity (the phenomenon of human neurological diversity) and the neurodiversity paradigm (the understanding of neurodiversity as a natural form of human diversity, subject to the same societal dynamics as other forms of diversity). And having a name for the pathology paradigm makes that paradigm much easier to discuss, recognize, challenge, and deconstruct - and eventually dismantle.

Words are tools. And as we recognize that the master's tools will never dismantle the master's house, we are creating our own tools, which can help us not only to dismantle the master's house, but to build a new house in which we can live better, more empowered lives.

Outposts in Your Head

It breaks my heart when so many of the Autistic people I meet speak of themselves and think of themselves in the language of the pathology paradigm, and when I see how this disempowers them and keeps them feeling bad about themselves. They've spent their lives listening to the toxic messages spread by proponents of the pathology paradigm, and they've accepted and internalized those messages and now endlessly repeat them in their own heads.

When we recognize that the struggles of neurominorities largely follow the same dynamics as the struggles of other sorts of minority groups, we recognize this self-pathologizing talk as a manifestation of a problem that has plagued members of many minority groups - a phenomenon called internalized oppression.

A contemporary of Audre Lorde's, the feminist journalist Sally Kempton, had this to say about internalized oppression: "It's hard to fight an enemy who has outposts in your head."

The task of liberating ourselves from the master's house begins with dismantling the parts of that house that have been built within our own heads. And that process begins with throwing away the master's tools so that we stop inadvertently building up the very thing we're trying to dismantle.

Throwing Away the Master's Tools

Once we recognize that the foundation of the pathology paradigm - the fictive concept of "normal people" - is a fundamental element of the master's toolkit, it becomes a lot easier to identify and rid ourselves of the master'stools. All we need to do is take careful stock of our words, concepts, thoughts, beliefs, and worries, and see whether they still make sense if we throw out the concept of "normal," the concept that there's one "right" way for people's brains and minds to function.

Once we've thrown away the concept of "normal," neurotypicals are just members of a majority - not healthier or more "right" than the rest of us, just more common. And Autistics are a minority group, no more intrinsically "disordered" than any ethnic minority. When we realize that "normal" is just something a bunch of people made up, when we recognize it as one of the master's tools and toss it out the window, the idea of Autism as a "disorder" goes out the window right along with it. Disordered compared to what state of order, exactly, if we refuse to buy into the idea that there's one particular "normal" order to which all minds should conform?

Without the fictive reference point of "normal," functioning labels - "high-functioning Autism" and "low-functioning Autism" - are also revealed to be absurd fictions. "High-functioning" or "low-functioning" compared to what? Who gets to decide what the proper "function" of any individual human should be?

In the pathology paradigm, the neurotypical mind is enthroned as the "normal" ideal against which all other types of minds are measured. "Low-functioning" really means "far from passing for neurotypical, far from being able to do the things that neurotypicals think people should do, and far from being able to thrive in a society created by and for neurotypicals." "High-functioning" means "closer to passing for neurotypical." To describe yourself as "high-functioning" is to use the master's tools, to wall yourself up in the master's house - a house in which neurotypicals are the ideal standard against which you should be measured, a house in which neurotypicals are always at the top, and in which "higher" means "more like them."

If we start from the assumption that neurotypicals are "normal," and Autistics are "disordered," then poor connections between neurotypicals and Autistics inevitably get blamed on some "defect" or "deficit" in Autistics. If an Autistic can't understand a neurotypical, it's because Autistics have empathy deficits and impaired communication skills; if a neurotypical can't understand an Autistic, it's because Autistics have empathy deficits and poor communication skills. All the frictions and failures of connection between the two groups, and all the difficulties Autistics run into in neurotypical society, all get blamed on Autism. But when our vision is no longer clouded by the illusion of "normal," we can recognize this double standard for what it is, recognize it as just another manifestation of the sort of privilege and power that dominant majorities so often wield over minorities of any sort.

Life Beyond the Pathology Paradigm
A Spanish translation of this piece is available at
https://neurolatino.wordpress.com/2016/06/08/desechen-las-herramientas-del-amo-liberandonos-del-paradigma-de-la-patologia/ A German translation of this piece is available at
https://www.wuestenkaffee.de/werft-die-werkzeuge-der-herrschenden-fort/

A paradigm shift, as you may recall, requires that all data be reinterpreted through the lens of the new paradigm. If you reject the fundamental premises of the pathology paradigm, and accept the premises of the neurodiversity paradigm, then it turns out that you don't have a disorder after all. And it turns out that maybe you function exactly as you ought to function, and that you just live in a society that isn't yet sufficiently enlightened to effectively accommodate and integrate people who function like you. And that maybe the troubles in your life have not been the result of any inherent wrongness in you. And that your true potential is unknown and is yours to explore. And that maybe you are, in fact, a thing of beauty.

A French translation of this piece is available at
http://www.zinzinzine.net/nous-liberer-du-paradigme-de-la-pathologie.html
A Russian translation of this piece is available at
http://neurodiversityinrussia.com/2015/06/18/ник-волкер-избавься-от-инструментов-х/
A Portuguese translation of this piece is available at
https://autismoemtraducao.com/2016/11/11/jogue-fora-as-ferramentas-do-senhor-libertando-nos-do-paradigma-da-patologia/

A Czech translation of this piece is available at
http://mujautismus.cz/2017/01/zahodte-nastroje-panu-jak-se-osvobodit-od-paradigmatu-patologie/

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
THROW AWAY THE MASTER'S TOOLS: LIBERATING OURSELVES FROM THE PATHOLOGY PARADIGM * NEUROQUEER

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Nick Walker, PhD I wrote the original version of "Throw Away the Master's Tools" in 2011, cobbling it together from a lot of things I'd posted in private online autistic discussion forums starting around 2004. The original version was published in 2012 in the anthology Loud Hands: Autistic People, Speaking.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.provider_name
Journal of Ethics | American Medical Association

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Abstract

Lack of disability-competent health care contributes to inequitable health outcomes for the largest minoritized population in the world: persons with disabilities. Health care professionals hold implicit and explicit bias against disabled people and report receiving inadequate disability training. While disability competence establishes a baseline standard of care, health professional educators must prepare a disability conscious workforce by challenging ableist assumptions and promoting holistic understanding of persons with disabilities. Future clinicians must recognize disability as an aspect of diversity, express respect for disabled patients, and demonstrate flexibility about how to care for disabled patients' needs. These skills are currently undervalued in medical training, specifically. This article describes how integrating disability consciousness into health professions training can improve health equity for patients with disabilities.

Discomfort Providing Care for Patients With Disability

People with disabilities were estimated to compose 16% of the world's population in 2021, ¹ making it inevitable that health care professionals will care for disabled patients, regardless of their practice location or specialization. Recent work demonstrates that physicians are hesitant about providing-and sometimes unwilling to provide-care for disabled patients. ² Additionally, medical students report greater discomfort when caring for disabled patients than nondisabled patients. ³ These findings on current and future physicians' perceptions suggest that the current disability curriculum in medical educational is insufficient. Furthermore, the COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated deeply entrenched ableism ⁴ and clinicians' negative beliefs about disabled patients, ⁵ further contributing to health inequities for disabled patients. ¹ There is thus a significant need for radical change in pedagogical approaches regarding how we teach medical trainees about disability.

Competency-Based Curricula

Disability training across the medical education continuum is paramount to improving health equity. Nevertheless, medical students report that current disability education is inadequate to fully capture or contextualize the needs of disabled patients. ³ Implementing the core disability competencies for health care education, proposed by the Alliance for Disability in Health Care Education, 6,7 would guide curriculum development to provide students with disability-specific knowledge, skills, and beliefs needed to provide quality care. When taught, disability competencies increase both comfort and clinical skills in caring for disabled patients. 7,8 However, competency-based education alone may not compensate for years of ableist education and experiences internalized by medical trainees. Indeed, a larger shift in medical education toward disability consciousness is needed.

Disability competence introduced the notion of disability as an identity, similar to race, while a disability conscious curriculum leverages disability justice principles to help reframe trainees' perspectives and cultivate openness in clinical reasoning. 9,10 Specifically, disability consciousness utilizes disability studies to raise awareness of the historical violence and injustices against the disabled community and "more fully promote the respect, beneficence, and justice that patients deserve." 9 Disability consciousness adds an appreciation of the disability community's broader lived experiences and can be conceptualized as a framework to interrogate the multiple ableist systems at play, thus leaving the learner better positioned to consciously employ a patient-centered approach (see Figure).

Figure. Model of Disability Consciousness Relative to Sources of Information, Educational Messaging, and Experiences That Shape Ableist Ideas

The inner ring highlights ableist assumptions and beliefs that are filtered through the middle ring of educational exposure and through an outer ring of disability consciousness.

What and How We Teach Matters

While the inclusion of disability topics in medical education presents an opportunity to counteract ableist assumptions, attention must be paid to what is taught and how it is taught. A recent study revealed that 82.4% of practicing US physicians believe that significantly disabled patients have a worse quality of life than nondisabled patients, ⁵ an assumption discordant with disabled patients' self-perceptions. 11,12 The medical model of disability may perpetuate these inaccurate ableist assumptions by conceptualizing disability as merely a "health condition" and not as a marginalized identity of persons with unique lived experiences. 13,14 Unfortunately, some students receive no disability training. A 2017 study found that only 52% of responding US allopathic and osteopathic medical schools included disability awareness programs. ¹⁵ Many curricula are isolated, one-time lectures that fail to provide trainees with sufficient tools to approach disabled patients with a balance of knowledge and humility. ¹⁶

Recently, disability-related humanities principles, disability rights education, and social model of disability topics have been embedded globally in Indian and Australian health professions education. 17,18 In the United States, the commitment to the social model of disability is led by student advocates and faculty collaborators. For example, disability culture, the social model of disability, and direct interaction with disabled patients have been incorporated longitudinally in medical school curricula at Harvard Medical School, ¹⁹ and similar topics are being piloted at Penn State College of Medicine and Ohio State College of Medicine (L. Smeltz et al, unpublished data, August 2023). 20,21,22 Other US medical schools have similarly integrated disability rights and disabled patients as teachers into their curricula ²³ and advocated for universal design, or design with diversity and accessibility at the forefront, to be included as an educational topic and to guide curricula development. Positioning disabled people as teachers and including direct interactions with them in learning experiences have been well received by medical students and been shown to increase students' and residents' awareness, sensitivity, and preparedness to deliver high-quality care. 24,25,26,27,28 Importantly, these curricula included topics related to the humanities and social and human rights to help students develop a holistic understanding of disability. Improving trainees' recognition of implicit bias and increasing their confidence in assessing barriers to care will also help build disability-consciousness. In the future, as disability conscious health care professionals, they will continually navigate assumptions about disability and humbly partner with a growing population of diverse, disabled patients.

Anti-Oppressive Health Care

Discrimination, prejudice, and ableism are pervasive in health care. Mere individual recognition of differential treatment is insufficient to drive change, ²⁹ as the multi-layered medical training environment serves to uphold and reinforce deeply embedded ableist structures and attitudes. Fully addressing ableism, as well as related forms of oppressions such as racism, homophobia, trans-phobia, ageism, and sexism, will require flexibility, intentional curiosity, and a longitudinal commitment.

We believe that medical education should develop disability consciousness in health professions trainees. An idea that has been transformative in antiracism efforts, 29 consciousness requires constant, active metacognition and reflection that lends itself to continual identity formation, skill development, open-minded thinking, and humility. Consciousness could be a novel vehicle for social change and for revolution in anti-ableist health care. Disability consciousness would lead transformation in health care by shifting the conception of disability from an individual and static view toward a holistic and dynamic view, allowing trainees to visualize how ableism permeates experiences at the individual, interpersonal, institutional, systemic, and structural levels. The disability conscious curriculum is supported by disability studies and disability justice principles that explicitly recognize disability's unique culture and intersectionality with other identities. This heightened awareness is a critical step toward culturally responsive, comprehensive, and high-quality health care delivery.

Cultivating Humility

Including disability consciousness in training will add a layer of nuance and complexity to trainees' awareness of disability, teach them to recognize and dismantle ableism at multiple levels, and ultimately help them develop the skills to apply adaptable, informed solutions to improve health equity for disabled people. For example, medical education has historically taught disability through the medical model, which views disability as a condition to be prevented, cured, or fixed, ³⁰ reinforcing ableist views. As mentioned, a disability conscious curriculum leverages disability justice principles to help reframe trainees' perspectives and cultivate openness in clinical reasoning.

Trainees should aspire to develop respectful curiosity and seek ongoing engagement with disabled people. Just as disability consciousness learns from the fields of disability justice and disability studies, so clinicians must partner with and learn from others. This interprofessional team-based approach includes uniting with those in other disciplines and, most importantly, forming true partnerships with disabled patients and disabled physician colleagues. Collaborating on a team requires explicit focus on including diverse perspectives, which includes recognizing disability as part of diversity. ³¹ Although increasing the representation of medical students and physicians with disabilities is a critical step toward promoting disability consciousness, from an ethical standpoint, we should be careful not to burden our minoritized colleagues by forcing them to constantly educate their colleagues. ³² Similar to culturally responsive health care for other marginalized groups, approaching patient care with humility is essential for health equity. Humility underscores recognition of the need to practice self-awareness, acknowledge personal limitations, and seek continual growth. Therefore, we must, as a profession, fully address ableism and closely related forms of oppression with intentional curiosity and a longitudinal commitment. While anti-ableist health care is built on a foundation of competency, disability consciousness will lead us to an interprofessional, holistic understanding of the lived experience of disability. ⁹

People with disabilities have historically been mistreated in health care, as evidenced by forced sterilization laws (upheld by Buck v Bell), institutionalization, and, most recently, the distribution of resources during the COVID-19 pandemic. 33,34 Continuing to teach this information without behavioral and structural change is wrong. We have an ethical imperative to foster disability humility and better serve our disabled patients, ³⁵ and that duty starts with critically revamping the way we teach disability from the moment medical students begin their health care education.

"Conscious" Education

Medical education programs should partner with disabled people to build a curriculum and to develop experiences that cultivate trainees' disability consciousness. Equitable inclusion of disabled people in health care is not only an ethical imperative but also improves learning. 24,25,26,27,28 Collaboration with the disability community is a prerequisite to disability conscious curriculum development and directly combats inaccurate and damaging assumptions.

A disability conscious education would address each disability competency within the context of consciousness, necessitating the inclusion of the social and identity models of disability, disability studies, and disability justice (see Table). To implement these changes in medical education, educators need a standardized, interprofessional curriculum that is inclusive of diverse disability identities and that is explicitly informed and led by disabled people at all levels.

Preparedness and Progress

Trainees are increasingly pushing for a self-driven curriculum that prepares them to care for an increasingly diverse patient population, including a growing population of disabled patients. We acknowledge the work by student groups, federal agencies, and social justice movements-and agree that more training is needed. Unfortunately, progress has been incremental and slow.

The profession must approach disability conscious education with the same dedication, commitment, and vigor as other diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives. Disability is a valuable contributor to diversity and must be explicitly included under the goal of anti-oppressive, culturally responsive health care.

Editor's Note

Background image by Kaitlin Weed.

Citation

AMA J Ethics. 2024;26(1):E54-61.

DOI
10.1001/amajethics.2024.54.
Acknowledgements

The authors acknowledge Dr Christopher Lunsford for introducing the idea of disability consciousness and Michigan Medicine's MDisability Program for connecting the coauthors.

Conflict of Interest Disclosure

Authors disclosed no conflicts of interest.

The viewpoints expressed in this article are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views and policies of the AMA.

Author Information

Lydia Smeltz is a medical student at Penn State College of Medicine in Hershey, Pennsylvania. An advocate and ally for the disability community, she researches disability health education within medical education and addressing social determinants of health for people with disabilities.

Susan M. Havercamp, PhD is a professor of psychiatry and behavioral health at the Ohio State University Nisonger Center in Columbus. Her research focuses on health and health care equity for people with disabilities and, specifically, disability education for health care professionals.

Lisa Meeks, PhD, MA is a clinical associate professor at the University of Michigan Medical School in Ann Arbor and the executive director of the DocsWithDisabilities Initiative. Her work focuses on improving access to education for learners with disabilities.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Aspiring to Disability Consciousness in Health Professions Training

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Lack of disability-competent health care contributes to inequitable health outcomes for persons with disabilities, the largest minoritized population in the world.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.provider_name
NEUROQUEER * THE WRITINGS OF DR. NICK WALKER

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Citable versions of my essays, along with background information and additional commentary, can be found in my book Neuroqueer Heresies. Please note that approximately two-thirds of the material in Neuroqueer Heresies does not appear on this site and is available only in the book. When referencing my work, please remember that my pronouns are she/her.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Marsha P. Johnson was one of the most prominent figures of the gay rights movement of the 1960s and 1970s in New York City. Always sporting a smile, Johnson was an important advocate for homeless LGBTQ+ youth, those effected by H.I.V. and AIDS, and gay and transgender rights.

Marsha P. Johnson was born on August 24, 1945, in Elizabeth, New Jersey. Assigned male at birth, Johnson grew up in an African American, working-class family. She was the fifth of seven children born to Malcolm Michaels Sr. and Alberta Claiborne. Johnson's father worked on the General Motors Assembly Line in Linden, NJ and her mother was a housekeeper. Johnson grew up in a religious family and began attending Mount Teman African Methodist Episcopal Church as a child; she remained a practicing Christian for the rest of her life. Johnson enjoyed wearing clothes made for women and wore dresses starting at age five. Even though these clothes reflected her sense of self, she felt pressured to stop due to other children's bullying and experiencing a sexual assault at the hands of a 13-year-old-boy. Immediately after graduating from Thomas A. Edison High School, Johnson moved to New York City with one bag of clothes and $15.

Once in New York, Johnson returned to dressing in clothing made for women and adopted the full name Marsha P. Johnson; the "P" stood for "Pay It No Mind," a phrase that became her motto. Johnson described herself as a gay person, a transvestite, and a drag queen and used she/her pronouns; the term "transgender" only became commonly used after her death. According to her nephew, Johnson always maintained a close but fraught relationship with her family back in New Jersey.

It was not easy to live on the margins. New York State still persecuted gay people and frequently criminalized their activities and presence. Rights for LGBTQ+ people were limited and sometimes ignored completely. Having difficulty finding employment, Johnson turned to sex work. She was often abused by clients and arrested by the police. She also did not have a permanent home during this time, and bounced around sleeping at friends' homes, hotels, restaurants, and movie theaters. She also found work waiting tables and performing in drag shows. In a 1992 interview, Johnson said "I was no one, nobody, from Nowheresville until I became a drag queen."

Not long after moving to New York, then 17-year-old Johnson met 11-year-old Sylvia Rivera. Rivera, a Puerto Rican transgender girl, and the two became instant friends. Rivera later said of Johnson, "she was like a mother to me." As Johnson had done for herself, she encouraged Rivera to love herself and her identity. Johnson adored wearing colorful, fun outfits that she made from finds at thrift stores and discarded items; she was also often seen wearing a crown of flowers.

Johnson's life changed when she found herself engaging with the resistance at The Stonewall Inn on June 28, 1969. In the early morning hours, police raided the bar and began arresting the patrons, most of whom were gay men. Johnson and Rivera arrived at Stonewall around 2am where, Johnson said in a later interview, "the place was already on fire, and there was a raid already. The riots had already started." There are many competing stories about what Johnson did during the raid on the Stonewall Inn, but it is clear she was on the front lines. Johnson, like many other transgender women, felt they had nothing to lose. They were not only angered by the police raid but also the oppression and fear they experienced every day. In the wake of the raid, Johnson and Rivera led a series of protests.

The raid on Stonewall galvanized the gay rights movement. The first Gay Pride Parade took place in 1970 and a series of gay rights groups-including the Gay Liberation Front, a more radical organization, and the Gay Activist Alliance, a more moderate and focused spin-off group-emerged. Johnson was involved in the early days of both but grew frustrated by the exclusion of transgender and LGBTQ+ people of color from the movement. She actively spoke out about the transphobia in the early gay rights movement. In 1970, Johnson and Rivera founded Street Transvestite Action Revolutionaries (STAR), "an organization dedicated to sheltering young transgender individuals who were shunned by their families." The two also began STAR House, a place where transgender youth could stay and feel safe. STAR House was of personal importance to Johnson and Rivera as they had both spent much of their youth experiencing homelessness and destitution. The first STAR House was in the back of an abandoned truck in Greenwich Village. STAR House then moved to a dilapidated building, which they tried to fix up, but the group was evicted after eight months.

Throughout the 1970s, Johnson became a more visible and prominent member of the gay rights movement. She began performing with the drag group, "Hot Peaches." She attracted the attention of many, including the pop artist Andy Warhol who included her in a series of prints in 1975 entitled "Ladies and Gentlemen." In an interview Johnson did for a 1972 book, she said her ambition was "to see gay people liberated and free and to have equal rights that other people have in America." She wanted to see her "gay brothers and sisters out of jail and on the streets again." In another interview, she said "as long as gay people don't have their rights all across America...there is no reason for celebration." In 1980, she was invited to ride in the lead car of the Gay Pride Parade in New York City.

Despite her joyous personality and ever-present smile, Johnson experienced hardship. She never let her personal setbacks stop her advocacy. In the 1970s, Johnson experienced a series of mental health breakdowns and spent time in and out of psychiatric hospitals. She also continued to engage in sex work, not knowing any other way to make money, and continued to get arrested. In 1990, Johnson was diagnosed with H.I.V. She spoke publicly about her diagnosis and how people should not be afraid of those with the disease in a June 26, 1992 interview.

On July 6, 1992, Johnson's body was found in the Hudson River. She was 46. Initially ruled a suicide, many friends questioned that conclusion and suspected foul play. At the time, 1992 was the worst year on record for anti-LGBTQ violence according to the New York Anti-Violence Project. Police then reclassified the case as a drowning from undetermined cause, but the LGBTQ+ community was furious that the police refused to investigate further and that many press outlets did not cover her death. At her funeral, hundreds of people showed up at the church; it was so crowded that people stood on the street. In 2012, the New York Police Department reopened the case into Johnson's death.

In 2019, New York City announced that Marsha P. Johnson, along with Rivera, would be the subject of a monument commissioned by the Public Arts Campaign "She Built NYC." The monument will be the first in NYC to honor transgender women. In 2020, New York State named a waterfront park in Brooklyn for Johnson. Johnson is also now the subject of many documentaries. She remains one of the most recognized and admired LGBTQ+ advocates.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Marsha P. Johnson was one of the most prominent figures of the gay rights movement of the 1960s and 1970s in New York City.

# data[].attributes.body
*Check out local stores and small biz websites instead of Amazon though, if you can

# data[].attributes.body
The opening prompt: checking in in general, the land, and what do you feel makes you unique - who you are, what makes you unique.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
4 APA/BBS CEs are available for an additional fee of $30. After you register for the workshop, your confirmation email from Eventbrite will contain a link to the site where you can purchase the APA/BBS CEs from our co-sponsor, Spiritual Competency Academy (SCA). APA/BBS CEs may be purchased at any time before the workshop, but only those who have purchased in advance will receive the credits. See below for details.
Did you know that the rate of PTSD in Autistic people is as high as 42%, and up to 37% in ADH* (commonly referred to as ADHD) people, compared to 4% of the general population? These disturbing statistics are a fundamental indication that Autistic and ADH people need anti-ableist, trauma-informed therapy from clinicians who understand that being Neurodivergent does not equate to being a flawed or broken.

The Neurodivergent nervous system, mind, and body, while unique to every individual, needs its own approach that centers somatic resourcing, client as self-expert, and an understanding of the Neurodiversity paradigm versus the long-standing pathology paradigm.

Join somatic, anti-oppression counselor Nyck Walsh for an introductory workshop focusing on clinicians supporting Neurodivergent clients. Participants learn about self-identification in the Autistic community, and attributes or qualities that may suggest a client is Neurodivergent. Nyck shares language to use and to avoid, and tools to approach your clients from a trauma-informed lens that centers their innate wisdom, wholeness, and capacity for sensory delight. This workshop is five hours with one hour for rest, movement, integration, etc.

In addition to learning how to better support clients, participants discover more of their own uniqueness and access greater creativity and permission in their roles as therapists.

Teachings are appropriate for healthcare professionals as well as the general public. Healthcare professionals will be able to incorporate the tools and practices offered in this program in ways beneficial to clients or patients.

* ADH is medically known as ADHD, or Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, in this workshop Nyck will explain why he leaves off the last "D" representing Disorder.

Nyck Walsh (he/they) has been a leader for 15 years in bringing somatic, anti-ableist, trauma-informed care to Autistic children, adults, and families. He founded The Infinite U in 2009 after a most profound experience of teaching a yoga class to families with Autistic kids. In that hour, Nyck's most shamed parts, specifically their gentleness, sensitivity, and seriousness became true assets, and they witnessed kids and parents go from deep distress and isolation to a state of heightened calm, safety, and belonging. Originally formed in NJ, Nyck brought The Infinite U to Colorado while he pursued his graduate studies at Naropa University in Somatic Counseling Psychology, with a concentration in Body Psychotherapy. Over time, The Infinite U grew to include somatic counseling for kids, teens, and parents, community oriented social groups for teens, summer camp programs, and family support that included groups for Autistic teens, their non-Autistic siblings, and their parents. All of this work centered Neurodivergent and Autistic people.

Through the pandemic and the shift to virtual work, The Infinite U transformed into Nyck Walsh Counseling and Training Center, focusing on individual work with adults and training clinicians and is now located on the unceded lands of the Wabanaki (Dawnland Confederacy), Agawam, and Pawtucket, colonially known as Groveland, Massachusetts. Their work, bringing a compassionate and accurate lens to Neurodivergent people, has created a large national following among clinicians wishing to expand their ability to serve Neurodivergent clients.

Nyck's identities include white, Autistic, queer, trans, and anti-Zionist Jewish ( to learn more about what it means to Nyck to be anti--Zionist, please click here). As a somatic, anti-oppression counselor, Nyck acknowledges how his sociocultural locations inform his lived experience as an individual and as a clinician. They are deeply passionate about supporting late identified Autistic folx, especially helping people socialized as girls, to unpack their lives through the lens of their unidentified and misunderstood Autistic experience. Nyck attributes so much of their personal and professional growth to their clients, who are by far, their greatest teachers and experts on Autism and ADH. When not advocating for the individual and collective rights of marginalized people Nyck can be found frolicking in the forest or beach, delighting in sensory pleasure, feeling big love for his family, or basking in solitude with his noise-canceling headphones.

___________________________________________________
CE Information
Teachings are appropriate for healthcare professionals as well as the general public. Healthcare professionals will be able to incorporate the tools and practices offered in this program in ways beneficial to clients or patients.

Learning Objectives: By the end of this course, participants will be able to:

1. Describe the importance of self-identification in the Autistic community

2. Critique the pathology paradigm

3. List the primary responsibilities of the therapist when working with Neurodivergent clients

4. Identify possible indicators for non-stereotypical presentations of Autism

Information on Continuing Education Credit for Health Professionals

CEs for psychologists are provided by the Spiritual Competency Academy (SCA) which is co-sponsoring this program. The Spiritual Competency Academy is approved by the American Psychological Association to sponsor continuing education for psychologists. Spiritual Competency Academy maintains responsibility for this program and its content.

The California Board of Behavioral Sciences accepts CEs for LCSW, LPCC, LEP, and LMFT license renewal for programs offered by approved sponsors of Continuing Education by the American Psychological Association.

LCSW, LPCC, LEP, and LMFTs, and other mental health professionals from states other than California need to check with their state licensing board as to whether or not they accept programs offered by approved sponsors of Continuing Education by the American Psychological Association.

SCA is approved by the California Board of Registered Nursing (BRN Provider CEP16887) for licensed nurses in California. RNs must retain their certificate of attendance for 4 years after the course concludes.

For questions about completing the CE evaluation materials for this course, as well as receiving your Certificate of Attendance, contact CIIS Public Programs at publicprograms@ciis.edu. For other questions about CEs, visit www.spiritualcompetency.com or contact Spiritual Competency Academy at info@spiritualcompetencyacademy.com.

CEs are only available for participants who attend the live workshop in-person or on Zoom. CEs cannot be issued to participants who view a recording of a workshop.

SCA can issue the Continuing Education units that have been purchased within 3 months of the associated workshop. Please note that if you would like to purchase CEs anytime after 3 months past the event date, there is an additional $20 administrative fee.

___________________________________________________
Accessibility
If you need to request accessibility accommodations, please email publicprograms@ciis.edu at least one week prior to the event. For more information, explore our Accessibility web page.
Recording Policy
Portions of this workshop will be recorded, and limited access to a recording will be made available to those who attend the live event. CEs are only available for participants who attend the live workshop in-person or on Zoom. CEs cannot be issued to participants who view a recording of a workshop.
Refund Policy
Tickets are fully refundable up to 7 days prior to the event start. Within 7 days of the event, a 50% partial refund is available. No refunds are available within 24 hours of the event start. Read our full refund policy at our frequently asked questions web page.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
The Do's and Don'ts of Counseling With Neurodivergent Clients | CIIS

# data[].attributes.headline
Working with stamps, enjoying the tactile aspects of holding the block, covering the surface with marker and then pushing the stamp against the page.

# data[].attributes.subject
Working with stamps, enjoying the tactile aspects of holding the block, covering the surface with marker and then pushing the stamp against the page.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
What is neurodiversity?

Neurodiversity is the range of differences in individual brain function and behavioural traits, regarded as part of normal variation in the human population. Neurodiversity embraces the idea that every human is unique with a unique combination of abilities and needs.

The term neurodivergence usually refers to traits and characteristics associated with a number of diagnoses:

ADHD

Autism spectrum disorder

Developmental Coordination Disorder (Dyspraxia)

Developmental Language Disorder

Dyscalculia - a mathematical learning disability

Dyslexia

Intellectual Disability

Tic Disorders, including Tourette's Syndrome

Neurodiversity understands and embraces the differences in the way humans think and behave. It aims to increase the acceptance and inclusion of all people by embracing neurological differences.

Words Matter

The neurodiversity movement promotes inclusive and non-judgmental language. Many organisations prefer person-first language ("a person with autism", "a person with dyslexia"). However, some research suggests that the autistic community prefers the use of identify-first language ("an autistic person"). Rather than making assumptions, it is best to ask the individual about their preferred language.

Person / Environment Fit

To quote an autistic person "We are freshwater fish in saltwater. Put us in fresh water and we function just fine. Put us in saltwater and we struggle to survive".

Understanding and embracing neurodiversity in communities, schools, and workplaces can improve inclusivity for all people. Creating an environment that is helpful to neurodiversity and recognises everyone's strengths and talents while also providing support for their differences and needs is important and could look like:

An appropriate setup in the workplace/school that supports sensory preferences such as noise and movement

Clear communication styles that consider each individual's needs like the use of visuals schedules and avoiding sarcasm or indirect language

Neurotypical Expectations

Neurodiversity opposes attempts to cure or normalise behaviours to conform to "neurotypical" expectations. With the belief that society should work to remove stigma, create accommodations, and fully accept neurodiversity.

It aims for the acceptance of unfamiliar characteristics that cause no harm rather than teaching "neurotypical" behaviours that may result in masking.

Masking is when a neurodiverse individual hides or controls behaviours that are not considered neurotypical. Masking can have severe effects on mental and physical health, inducing conditions like;

Understanding the impact of the environment on each individual and supporting changes to the environment as required

Supporting the development of physical, sensory, and emotional regulation

Adopting a strengths-based approach emphasising pleasure, natural learning, social connection, and well-being

Promotion of autonomy

Keys considerations under the neurodiversity framework include:
What support is available?

At Therapy Focus, we have a dedicated team of experienced Autism Diagnosticians, Speech Pathologists and Psychologists who can provide support for neurodiverse people. Whether that's working towards receiving a diagnosis or getting support to complete day-to-day activities, our comprehensive services are here to support those who are neurodiverse.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Understanding Neurodiversity - Therapy Focus

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Neurodiversity is the range of differences in individual brain function and behavioural traits, regarded as part of normal variation in the human population. Neurodiversity embraces the idea that every human is unique with a unique combination of abilities and needs.

# data[].attributes.headline
Repeating the stamps was satisfying, this is where I was wishing I had a stamping ink pad to go faster than the market and be able to repeat more of them and make them more defined and more saturated.

# data[].attributes.subject
Repeating the stamps was satisfying, this is where I was wishing I had a stamping ink pad to go faster than the market and be able to repeat more of them and make them more defined and more saturated.

# data[].attributes.headline
This isn't a classical neurographic piece but something inspired by reading a bit more about it and being curious about how it works.

# data[].attributes.subject
This isn't a classical neurographic piece but something inspired by reading a bit more about it and being curious about how it works.

# data[].attributes.body
https://superherotar.framiq.com/en/build/#google_vignette

Name: Ashley

Strength: easy to talk to

Kryptonite: low self-esteem

Sidekick Name: Self-Compassion (nicknamed Selfie)

Sidekick Attribute: Kindness

Weapon of Positivity: hammer- knocks down any walls in my way

Protection (hat, glasses, gloves): hat keeps me safe from judgement.

Fights against (negativity, distractions): negative self-talk

Colours symbol: gold- powerful, strong

Other:

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.provider_name
NEUROQUEER • THE WRITINGS OF DR. NICK WALKER

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
NEUROTYPICAL PSYCHOTHERAPISTS & AUTISTIC CLIENTS • NEUROQUEER

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Nick Walker, PhD I wrote this piece in the Fall of 2014. Since 2010, I’ve been a faculty member at California Institute of Integral Studies, a school known for its excellent Counseling Psychotherapy graduate programs. Most of the grad students in my classes are in training to become psychotherapists, and many of the students in

# data[].attributes.headline
“Learning to listen with more then your ears” 

# data[].attributes.subject
“Learning to listen with more then your ears” 

# data[].attributes.body
This whole podcast is an amazing resource !! :)

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
91. Reclaiming our Wholeness with Honey Schneider - Learn Play Thrive

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
What is "neurosupremacy" and "neuronormativity," and how does this differ from the idea of "neruotypicality"? What does peer counseling offer that traditional therapy misses? How can creativity help us break seemingly firm limits set by the systems of power and oppression that exist around us?