Pre and Post Diagnosis Report
This process is often spoken about from the medical model of disability, this can form a damaging idea about diagnosis and ultimately about oneself. We at Glow Speech Pathology and Services believe that neurodivergent people should be able to have a positive experience pre diagnosis, during diagnosis and post diagnosis, this could have a positive effect on building knowledge about support needs and fostering a positive neurodivergent identity.
Diagnosis at any age can be a daunting experience. Many neurodivergent individuals have stated that the diagnosis process can be a negative experience for many reasons. We like to support individuals and families going through this process. The way in which we work with families is different for every individual but could include:
- Education about diagnosis from social model of disability
- Reframing language around diagnosis
Introducing neurodiverse affirming language - Promoting self-advocacy
- Talking about the double empathy problem
- Discussing neurodivergent and neurotypical norms how these are both valid
- Talking about communication preferences and being accepting all forms of communication
- Discussing how to find neurodiverse affirming clinicians
Introducing neurodiverse affirming language
