statement on Neuroaffirming Practice.

The shift and movement towards accepting neurodivergent traits and characteristics as strengths and not something or things that need to be cured or fixed is long overdue.

We work hard to stay up to date with current language and recommended safe approaches to incorporate into our daily practise and continue to take as many opportunities as we can to assist with our own development in this space. We believe it is imperative and would not practice without it.

We also acknowledge, however, that while we all learn and transition into this new way of thinking and doing, with the awareness that we need to practise to learn a new skill, it would be amiss of us as occupational therapists, to expect that it is going to be smooth and straight forward for everyone.

We acknowledge that during the shift within society as a whole, we cannot expect to be perfect at it.

There are going to be nuances to terminology that we, as therapists, are aware of, that are new to our clients and other members of the community who we are collaborating with or the other way around. What is neuroaffirming for one person might not be for another.

We strive to approach these inevitable times as opportunities to share knowledge and embrace it as an opportunity to get to know each other in a way that is supportive, inclusive and personalised to your needs.

We recognise it is likely that some of our older generation, our Elders, who have lived their lives through a very different lens, may find it difficult to embrace the neuroaffirming approach. With that understanding we need to be aware that it is a practise in itself to change and indeed we cannot change everyone.

In turn, as neurodivergent’s who experience a fierce sense of injustice, whilst maintaining our neuroaffirming values, we are challenged to recognise that we need to return the same level of respect that we expect when views do not align or are ignorant to this movement.

This too is a practise, and throughout the process we need to honour that naturally we will find ourselves feeling wronged, discriminated against and like no-one is listening. We believe that part of the beauty of this practise is that we can use these valid experiences to propel ourselves towards focusing on educating in spaces or with people who are open to learning and therefore more likely to instigate change on a deeper level.

We acknowledge that whilst exciting and inspiring, it is a space that is simultaneously deeply challenging, often re-traumatising, and riddled with political correctness, which risks creating a cancel culture.

With that in mind, we believe that by focussing heavily or discrediting someone’s views if they do not strictly meet the standard we have embraced, we run the risk of hindering growth in this space.

We therefore need to apply awareness with discretion to this response, to make sure that we are not in turn distracting from what we are here to do and that is work together in collaboration towards finding solutions. When confronted with opposing views, it is a valuable reminder to allow time to see evidence of growth before missing or dismissing an opportunity for that very value to take root (growth). Sometimes a person may appear as though they haven’t listened, only to later learn it was perhaps just on a level too discrete to detect. 

As shared by Sir Richard Branson, advocate for fellow neurodivergent people, who we believe was sharing a NASA quote: It’s not a failure, it’s an early success attempt!

We’re not all going to get the language perfect every time, so, to sum it up and use another favourite quote (original creator unknown): try not to let your perfect be the enemy of another’s good.

Ultimately, we strive to fundamentally support each other in the therapeutic partnership while we all learn and grow towards a better future.

The values that It’s A Practise strive towards of growth, collaboration and embracing that it’s all a practise, which takes time, patience and self-compassion, are in their element in this space. We look forward to collaborating with you.