Chances are, you’ve heard the term neurodiversity used in the context of working with children and adults with autism. However, you may have had difficulty finding practical examples of how to embrace neurodiversity in the classroom and clinic.
Neurodiversity Celebration Week is a worldwide initiative to educate others and challenge stereotypes about neurological differences. In recognition of this week, we’re featuring articles that can help you support the people you work with and interact with them through a lens of neurodiversity.
Viewing DLD, Dyslexia, and Stuttering From a Neurodiversity Lens
Developmental Language Disorder as a Multidimensional Neurodevelopmental Spectrum: Implications for Diagnosis: As we learn more about the nature and presentation of developmental language disorder (DLD), it becomes clear that DLD affects every child differently. Learn how viewing DLD through the lens of a neurodevelopmental spectrum disorder can help you better diagnose DLD and deliver more accurate prognoses.
Looking Beyond the Lines: Mental Health Co-Occurrences and Future Treatment Considerations for Dyslexic Populations: Children with dyslexia have an increased chance of developing anxiety and depression and encountering difficulties with their peers. The authors of this study sought to identify treatment methods that also addressed these mental health co-occurrences for students with dyslexia.
How Variability Is Addressed in Interventions for Neurodiverse Conditions: Implications for Stuttering: By adopting strategies that speech-language pathologists (SLPs) use when working with individuals who have other neurodiverse conditions—as well as stuttering—you may be able to offer more personalized stuttering interventions. This review highlights approaches that you can adapt for clients who stutter.
Supporting People in Classroom and Rehabilitation Centers
The Speech-Language Pathologist’s Role in Supporting Autistic Students in Postsecondary Education Settings: As an SLP, you’re uniquely qualified not only to support autistic students in the classroom but also to help prepare them for postsecondary education settings. This article contains usable examples of how to assist autistic students in building and maintaining a welcoming community and succeeding in college.
Neurodivergent Voices in the Classroom: Acquired or Innate, Still a Student: Creating a welcoming classroom for neurodivergent individuals includes ensuring that these students participate in class and are respected, supported, and empowered. Importantly, the authors note that students with acquired traumas are often overlooked in discussions about neurodiversity.
“It Does Not Always Need To Be Staff Choosing the Agenda”: The Experiences of People With Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) When Communicating With Rehabilitation Staff: Rehabilitation staff report communication issues with patients who have TBI. This article highlights how people with TBI experience these communication issues—with a focus on actual scenarios and real-life situations that proved challenging or frustrating.
More on Supporting Neurodiverse Individuals
The term neurodiversity was first used in an article in the ASHA Journals in 2014. Since then, the term’s usage has significantly increased within the CSD research community: For example, last year, we published more than 35 articles containing the word. Check out the full list on ASHAWire!
March also marks Brain Injury Awareness Month. You can find more resources on providing care to people with TBI in our blog post published earlier this month. Stay tuned as we celebrate World Autism Awareness Day in April and Stuttering Awareness Week in May!
