Individualized, neurodiversity affirming, and comprehensive testing
Meet with Dr. Jon, a clinical child psychologist specializing in assessing children, adolescents, and young adults to explore ADHD, autism, and learning differences
What is neurodiversity?
You may have heard the term “neurodiversity” before to describe ADHD, autism, and learning and intellectual differences.
Neurodiversity describes the idea that each person experiences and interacts with the world in their own way and that there is no singular way or “right” way to think, to act, to sense, or to communicate.
Our society still tries to encourage neurodiverse people to conform to what is thought of as “normal” or “neurotypical.” This is not my approach.
Neurodiversity Affirming
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Neuro-Affirming
My approach moves away from a medical model. Rather than “deficits” or pathologizing neurodiversity, I focus on highlighting the uniqueness and strengths of how someone understands and interacts with our world. My practice is informed by the following principles:
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Validating and affirming identities, as well as understanding how your identities intersect and impact your lived experiences. Understanding the intersectionality of identities helps me provide more tailored and applicable recommendations.
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We live in a fundamentally ableist society, which frequently discriminates or maintains social prejudice against neurodiverse people. This can look like neurodiverse people experiencing more difficulties getting hired for jobs, difficulties conforming to our educational systems, or misdiagnoses in the healthcare system. Calling out and naming ableism allows us to have deeper conversations on how my assessments can be as effective as possible, as well as how the results of my assessment can be applied in various settings.
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I prioritize building a relationship grounded in trust and safety. This may mean spending time talking about your interests and passions and how this shows up in your daily life. Understanding your interests and passions gives me a small window into your world and can enhance how I structure my clinical interviews and the way I interact with you.
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Your sensory experiences and how you regulate through sensory experiences are valid. Understanding how you process and cope through different sensory experiences provides opportunities to figure out how to create sensory safety in different areas of your life.
Curious to learn more? Let’s talk!
Send me a message to schedule a free 30 minute consultation to answer your questions and see if we’re a good fit to work together.