Neurodiversity is a viewpoint that brain differences are normal, rather than deficits. Neurodiverse people experience, interact with, and interpret the world in unique ways.
Only in recent years has the concept of neurodiversity begun to emerge, and as a therapist seeking to learn how to best help and understand others, I have begun to look deeper into this development. I have spent a lot of time learning from autistic adults what their life experiences have been, and how earlier therapy practices affected them negatively.
Neurodiverse conditions are developmental. That means they are present at birth, but traits develop in childhood and adolescence. Examples of neurodiverse conditions include ADHD, Autism, Dyspraxia, Dyslexia, Dyscalculia, Dysgraphia, and Tourette’s syndrome, among others.
Occupational therapy is focused on achieving participation in life roles with the functional abilities present within a person. Whether a person is neuro-typical, or neuro-divergent, the goal is to allow for maximal success in day to day activities, resulting in fulfillment and general well-being.
As a practitioner with 25 years experience, my eyes have been opened to a greater understanding of each person as they are, rather than the “deficits” that society has identified as needing to be “fixed”. My clinical approach includes the neurodiversity viewpoint, with the goal of meeting the patient’s specific needs to be successful.
