The lived experience of a neurodivergent educational psychologist
I am an openly neurodivergent Educational Psychologist, who has diagnoses of dyspraxia, sensory processing differences, and I am undergoing an assessment of ADHD.
I am also a neurodiversity specialist, passionate about sharing the neurodiversity paradigm with others. I have seen first-hand how this approach has had a positive impact on my understanding of myself, within my family, and within the schools I support. The neurodiversity paradigm looks at the different ways individuals learn, process information, and experience their environment.
The paradigm views diagnoses such as Autism and ADHD as a ‘learning difference’ (with associated strengths, difficulties, and neutral features), rather than a ‘learning difficulty’. Neurodiversity values learning from the ‘lived experience’ of those with learning differences, to deepen understanding and inform adjustments.
With one facet of neurodiversity being learning from the lived experience of neurodivergent individuals, I have chosen to, rather vulnerably, write this article purely from my own lived experience vs. sharing information from the literature.
Here are 5 thoughts that I wanted to share with other educational psychologists and professionals, which have been informed by my neurodivergent identity.
The Neurodiversity paradigm is powerful
I started my Educational Psychology training over a decade before I began exploring my own neurodivergence. In contrast, I had learnt about the Neurodiversity paradigm 2 months before getting myself assessed.
The shift to looking at learning differences from a model that is informed by lived experience, rather than what is purely observed by professional experts, means that the shared understanding of the diagnosis is more relatable to the internal experience of those with the learning difference. It was fascinating to me to read other dyspraxic individuals’ life experiences that I could hugely relate to, that until now I had assumed were only experienced by me.
Diagnoses can be helpful, when shared appropriately
As a child I always knew I was different to my peers, and this is an experience commonly echoed by the children I work with. When I got my diagnoses, it was like looking back on my life on a screen and someone bringing it into sharper focus. For me, I feel that obtaining my diagnoses has helped me have greater self-acceptance and has been a positive experience.
Being neurodivergent is anxiety provoking
It is stressful and tiring to be in an environment that often does not play to your strengths and difficulties, and which is more suited to neurotypical individuals. For example, I feel sick and anxious when I find myself observing a child in a noisy Music lesson, despite (I think) being fairly emotionally aware and having emotional regulation tools to hand that I can use.
Therefore, when supporting anxious neurodivergent learners, we must focus on adapting the environment to be as enabling as possible and not just focus on the individual’s skills.
Ableism exists everywhere, and needs to be challenged
Ableism is discrimination against those with disabilities (including neurodivergence), and the reality is we have a lot to do to tackle it effectively.
I have experienced ableism myself, right from the point of initial assessment. When booking my dyspraxia assessment, I purposely booked with a Neurodiversity-affirming clinic. The occupational therapist conducting the assessment was dyspraxic themselves. Therefore, I was surprised to find out that the clinic had discussed whether I should be assessed at all for dyspraxia, given I was educated to doctorate level. We need to challenge the negative stereotypes that exist around neurodivergence.
It’s important to teach self-advocacy skills to neurodivergent children
Being neurodivergent is for life, and an individual is going to experience their unique strengths and difficulties associated with their neurodivergence in different ways across different phases of life. As educational psychologists, we often try to emphasise the importance of gaining the voice of the child.
We also need to be focusing on developing a child’s self-advocacy skills to provide this voice, so they can continue to share their experiences and helpful accommodations throughout their life.
Joanne is also running a one day event for educational psychologists ‘Creating neurodiversity-affirming schools‘ on 31st August.
More from edpsy:
