‘Neurodiversity Affirming practices’ 

Heidi Ryan (she/her) is a neurodivergent speech pathologist with over 15 years experience working with neurodivergent and disabled individuals, predominantly children and young adults.  This pales in comparison to her lived experience within a multiply neurodivergent family, neurodiverse friendship circles, and her passion for learning directly from the ND communities both online and in real life. 

Heidi lives and works near the Mornington Peninsula, where she also mentors in local Autistic groups, and is a disability advocate and representative for the Home Education Network.  Heidi feels strongly that the language we use informs and reflects our thinking, and acknowledges that we continue to improve as therapists and individuals in our understanding and knowledge, and therefore language use regarding neurodiversity. 

Neurodiversity Affirming Practices aim to ensure the individual needs of every person (particularly those typically marginalised neurodivergent individuals) are understood and accommodated for.  They recognise the diversity of the human experience, that different brains experience the world differently, and that there is no ‘one size fits all’ solution to difficulties encountered managing in a neurotypical world.  This presentation will outline how ND Affirming practices look, what to keep in mind, and how language matters.