An end to ableism: Adopting neurodiversity-affirming and strengths-based approaches for pediatric autistic clients (June 18, 2024)

Presented by: Lisa Marnell, OTD, MBA

Many occupational therapy scholars call for our profession to embrace the social model of disability in their practice (Harrison et al., 2021), including the central principle that people have the right to control their own lives and rehabilitation (Holler et al., 2021). In accordance with this model, traditional autistic traits would not be seen as "deficits", but rather as natural human variation that society fails to support (Chen & Patten, 2021). Ableism measures the abilities of a disabled individual against a non-disabled standard, such as pursuing a "neurotypical" developmental progression, having specific expectations for "normal" body movements, and addressing attention and engagement in a manner that does not align with an autistic child's neurology. Qualitative and quantitative data from studies of autistic perspectives and experiences highlight negative effects from ableism in therapy, including mental health stressors and decreased quality of life. This webinar will provide research-informed alternatives to ableism in pediatric occupational therapy practice with autistic children. Five examples will be provided of unique autistic neurobiology that occupational therapists should honour and apply to assessment and intervention when working with an autistic population. The definition and application of neurodiversity-affirming and strengths-based practice as well as a roadmap to embrace this paradigm will be provided. Furthermore, practical approaches will be taught for evaluating autistic strengths and challenges, developing neurodiversity-affirming goals and accommodations, and creating strengths-based goals. 

After taking part in this webinar, participants will be able to: 

1. Identify two ableist occupational therapy goals from two neurodiversity-affirming occupational therapy goals and explain the rational for their classification.
2. Reframe a child’s “deficit” as a strength and write a simple goal to use this identified strength to support the child’s occupational participation.

Level  Beginner (0-2 years of experience in this specific practice area)

Area of practice

Autism/Neurodiversity, Pediatrics

Client age group Young children (0-4 years old), Children (5-12 years old), Adolescents (13-19 years old)