What it Means to be a Neurodiversity-Affirming Practice
Here at Empower, one of our missions is to be a neurodiversity-affirming practice. This blog post aims to cover what this means, how it is put into practice, and why it is so important to us as a therapy practice.
Understanding Neurodiversity
Neurodiversity describes the concept that every person experiences and interacts with the world in their own unique way. There is no one “right” way to think, learn, or behave. The word neurodiversity was introduced by Australian sociologist Judy Singer. Singer coined this term as part of a social justice movement that aimed to increase acceptance and inclusion of all people while celebrating neurological differences.
Understanding the Terminology
Neurodiversity is the concept that neurologic differences are simply natural variations, not deficits, disorders, or impairments. This term was created to describe differences in neurotype in a way that would support a shift in focus away from the usual deficit, impairment, disorder approach, to a proactive understanding of neurodifference. Within the neurodiversity movement, two terms were developed: neurodivergent and neurotypical. Neurotypical describes someone who experiences and interacts with the world in a way that is considered “standard” or “typical”. Neurodivergent is the opposition to this term and describes someone who experiences and interacts with the world in a way that deviates from the “norm”, this term is utilized to describe people with atypical neurotypes. Examples of neurodivergent diagnosis include autism spectrum disorder, obsessive compulsive disorder, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, dyslexia, Tourette syndrome, Down syndrome, etc.
What Does it Mean to be a Neurodiversity-Affirming Practice?
A neurodiversity-affirming practice is one that focuses on accepting every individual’s unique qualities and identifying and celebrating their strengths. A neurodiversity-affirming practice invites and encourages every individual to show up authentically and to interact in a way that is true to their being. To be truly neurodiversity-affirming is significant as it aims to foster authentic connection and belonging, rather than to treat differences as challenges to be fixed. There are multiple ways a practice can align with these goals:
Respecting individual differences: It is important to acknowledge and respect the differences of each client, not to try to change these unique qualities to fit social norms.
Creating an accommodating environment: Part of recognizing an individual’s unique qualities is recognizing their unique support needs. For some individuals, this might include adjustments to sensory stimuli, adaptations in communication style, reduction of potentially harmful equipment, etc.
Including the client in their treatment goals: Including a client in their treatment goals ensures a clinician is working towards the well-being of the client, not working to fit the client into a mold dictated by social norms.
Encouraging self-advocacy: Supporting a client’s skills to advocate for themselves ensures that a client is communicating their individual needs.
Utilizing a strengths-based approach: Therapeutic approaches should have a focus on the strengths of an individual as opposed to identifying unique qualities that should be “fixed” or “corrected”.
Promoting clinician humility: It is the job of a clinician to approach every interaction with humility and a desire for a deeper understanding of their client, not to walk in with assumptions, or preconceived ideas of how the client experiences and interacts with the world. A clinician is not only supporting neurodiverse individuals, they are also continuously learning from neurodiverse individuals.
Why is it Important to be a Neurodiversity-Affirming Practice?
There has historically been a lack of neurodivergent voices in research for supportive services for the neurodiverse community. This can lead to a distorted understanding of the experience of neurodivergent individuals and can lead supportive services into practices that are not aligned with the true needs and desires of the client. Therapeutic practices that simply aim to reduce the core traits of neurodivergence can lead to increased social camouflaging or masking which is when an individual hides their behaviors to fit into societal norms. Masking has been associated with increases in comorbid diagnoses such as depression or anxiety. While these therapies may appear to be supporting superficial change, focusing only on conforming to societal norms neglects the true needs and desires of the individual. To be a neurodiversity-affirming practice creates a true sense of belonging, supports higher self-esteem, supports creation of a strong identity, and allows the individual’s true needs to be met.
Lifting Neurodivergent Voices
To align with neurodiversity-affirming practice, let’s take a look at some anonymous quotes from a study where 44 autistic individuals were interviewed about their experiences with neurodiversity-affirming therapies vs non neurodiversity affirming therapies.
Quotes from discussions of neurodiversity-affirming therapeutic experiences:
“I am working toward understanding and accepting myself as a neurodivergent person in a neuronormative world”
“They help me understand my strengths as well as difficulties”
“Not trying to change the underlying person I am”
“They don’t question my thoughts or feelings or experiences, they listen and acknowledge the neurodivergent experience, rather than dismissing or downplaying it”
Quotes from discussions of non neurodiversity-affirming therapeutic experiences:
“If a professional I am working with uses dated language, even if meant well, I would be less likely to tell them about my neurotype or ask for accommodations since I would be scared they would react based on negative stereotypes”
“Most of the distress I experience as a neurodivergent person is in the context of other’s expectations for my behavior”
“Some try to change thought patterns/behaviours that are just part of how my brain processes information. This is really harmful to perception of self and self esteem”
Music Therapy Specific Considerations
There are many ways to align music therapy sessions with neurodiversity-affirming values:
Embrace flexible approaches: There are an abundance of music therapy interventions that are highly adaptable and allow the therapist to adjust to the needs and desires of the client such as improvisation, song-writing, music listening, etc.
Focus on co-regulation and emotional-expression: A music therapist can support the regulation of a client through co-regulation. This is when the therapist supports the client through modeling regulation through their tone of voice, breathing rate, body language, etc. A music therapist can support emotional-expression through assisting the client in finding authentic and motivating forms of expression through music based interventions.
Utilize client preferred music: Preferred music can be highly motivating and can show that the clinician is accepting and respecting their client’s preferences.
Use sensory safe, accessible instruments: A music therapist can utilize instruments that best support the sensory needs and preferences of their client. A music therapist should also select instruments that are accessible and will set the client up for success.
Conclusion
At Empower, we believe in the power of neurodiversity-affirming care. We believe in the unique strengths and needs of every client and understand that no two clients are the same. Neurodiversity strengthens our community here. Our aim is always to support the needs of our clients while empowering them to utilize music to reach their best and truest version of themselves.
Sources:
https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/what-is-neurodiversity-202111232645
https://www.usa.edu/blog/neurodiversity-affirming-care-what-does-it-mean-for-therapy/
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1002/capr.12874