Welcome to your

Neurodiversity CRASH COURSE!

Acknowledgement of Country

https://create.kahoot.it/my-library/kahoots/1952c06e-e78e-4d2e-b066-d998fdb056c9

• Hi! -

• I’m Sofie
• Autistic
• ADHD
• I’m a choir nerd + love German

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a.k.a AuDHD

• I’m Kit (they/them)
• Autistic
• I’m a big recorder + musical nerd

• This presentation = your introduction to neurodiversity, specifically focusing on Autism + ADHD
• Self-activism is very important
• We can only speak for ourselves - listen to all voices!

WHAT IS NEURODIVERSITY?

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• DCD (dyspraxia)
• Dyscalculia
• Dyslexia
• Predominant Neurotype / neurotypicals

• Umbrella term
• Differences in the way people’s brains are wired
• No one ‘correct’ way for your brain to work
• Neurotypes include:
• ADHD
• Autism
• OCD
• Tourette’s

WHY IS THIS SO IMPORTANT?

• Prevailing problematic attitudes + stigma
• Online, historically, all around us
• Lack of awareness -> unconscious ableism
• Microaggressions
• Stereotypes
• Barrier to using sensory accommodations
• Approx 15-20% of people have a neurological difference
• Making the school an inclusive + safe place!

DIFFERENT PARADIGMS

• Medical model of disability
• Need to be fixed
• Something wrong with you
• You have the responsibility to fit in + change
• Social model of disability
• Society + our environment disables us by being inaccessible
• Everyone’s needs are valid + need to be met

AUTISM

01

FAST FACTS

• Autism = neurodevelopmental difference:
• Social interaction + communication
• Sensory differences
• “Restrictive and repetitive behaviours” 🙄 (DSM-5)
• Approx 1 in 100 people are autistic (underdiagnosis)
• It’s a spectrum = all autistic people are different
• Three levels = level of support need (Level 1 prev. Aspergers)

A BETTER EXPLANATION

Antenna

someone talking over there

bright light

someone smiling

itchy fabric

perfume

sitting still

echo

buzzing electricity

untidy space

someone brushing your arm

dog barking

tone of voice

emotions

drum kit from year 8 music

birds chirping

A BETTER EXPLANATION

Antenna

shutdowns, meltdowns, dissociation, delayed processing, overload

A BETTER EXPLANATION

If you’re visually hypersensitive, you might want to look away: this next image visually illustrates overwhelm in a classroom. It’s watercolour but it’s quite intense.

A BETTER EXPLANATION

ELEMENTS OF THE AUTISTIC EXPERIENCE

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vision

hearing

taste

smell

light touch

pressure

proprioception

interoception

vestibular

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vision

hearing

taste

smell

light touch

pressure

proprioception

interoception

vestibular

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neurologists generally agree there are at least 9 senses (some have put it as high as 53)

Hyposensitivity

Hypersensitivity

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vision

hearing

taste

smell

light touch

pressure

proprioception

interoception

vestibular

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neurologists generally agree there are at least 9 senses (some have put it as high as 53)

Accommodations!!!

to regulate our nervous systems

Accommodations!!!

to regulate our nervous systems

ELEMENTS OF THE AUTISTIC EXPERIENCE

Double empathy problem

= mutual communication differences

Eye contact

Tone

Not picking up on social cues

Social anxiety

Masking + scripting

Indirect communication

Non-verbal

Info dumping!

Often highly empathetic

Parallel play

PDA

Eye contact

Tone

Not picking up on social cues

Social anxiety

Masking + scripting

Indirect communication

Non-verbal

Tone tags!

Say what you mean!

Don’t read into it or push for allistic communication

Be patient, genuine, curious, and aware!

Info dumping!

Often highly empathetic

Parallel play

PDA

ELEMENTS OF THE AUTISTIC EXPERIENCE

Routines

Stimming

Special interests

Hyperfocus

Routines

Stimming

Special interests

“Self-stimulatory behaviour”

(we all do it)

Nervous system regulation

Hyperfocus

Routines

Stimming

Special interests

Playing one song on loop

Singing

Leg bouncing

Fidgeting

Arm flapping

Clicking a pen

Humming

Rocking

Tapping shoes together

Fidget toys

and.........

“Self-stimulatory behaviour”

(we all do it)

Nervous system regulation

Hyperfocus

Routines

Stimming

Special interests

Provide needed surety, soothe anxiety

(ADHD prevalence complicates this: 50 - 70% of autistic ppl have ADHD)

Hyperfocus

Playing one song on loop

Singing

Leg bouncing

Fidgeting

Arm flapping

Clicking a pen

Humming

Rocking

Tapping shoes together

Fidget toys

and.........

Routines

Stimming

Special interests

MAGIC

(if you know an autistic, just ask them about one of their special interests)

Hyperfocus

Playing one song on loop

Singing

Leg bouncing

Fidgeting

Arm flapping

Clicking a pen

Humming

Rocking

Tapping shoes together

Fidget toys

and.........

ELEMENTS OF THE AUTISTIC EXPERIENCE

THE ‘SPECTRUM’

• Only autistic people are ‘on the [autistic] spectrum’
• You don’t need this euphemism!!

THE ‘SPECTRUM’

• Only autistic people are ‘on the [autistic] spectrum’
• You don’t need this euphemism!!
• The ‘spectrum’ is NOT LINEAR!

THE ‘SPECTRUM’

• Only autistic people are ‘on the [autistic] spectrum’
• You don’t need this euphemism!!
• The ‘spectrum’ is NOT LINEAR!

THE ‘SPECTRUM’

• Only autistic people are ‘on the [autistic] spectrum’
• You don’t need this euphemism!!
• The ‘spectrum’ is NOT LINEAR!

Imagine asking a neurotypical “how neurotypical” they are

THE ‘SPECTRUM’

• Only autistic people are ‘on the [autistic] spectrum’
• You don’t need this euphemism!!
• The ‘spectrum’ is NOT LINEAR!
• Instead, imagine a colour spectrum:
• No colour is ‘more’ or ‘less’ red

than any other; they are merely

all different

FUNCTIONING LABELS

What are they?

• Prevailing binary paradigm between ‘high-functioning’ and ‘low-functioning’ autistic people
• Idea of “mild” vs “severe” autism

FUNCTIONING LABELS

Why are they problematic…

• They reduce autistic people to their perceived ‘value’ in a capitalist society
• They misrepresent ‘functioning’ as a static quality
• It changes on a daily basis and over our lifetime!
• You don’t ask allistics (non-autistic people) how highly they function or to what degree they are neurotypical

FUNCTIONING LABELS

Why are they problematic…

• They are a legacy of Nazi eugenics
• Hans Asperger = psychologist who introduced this idea
• Asperger classified autistics into functioning categories for the purposes and ideologies of eugenics
• Child euthenasia (eugenic murder) clinics
• Autistic children classified ‘not worthy to live.’

FUNCTIONING LABELS

What to say instead!

• To communicate this idea, you could:
• say autistic people with higher or lower support needs
• talk about the traits you’re actually observing

DEFECIT-FOCUSED LANGUAGE

The beloved DSM-5…

• Deficits in social-emotional reciprocity, ranging, for example, from abnormal social approach and failure of normal back-and-forth conversation; to reduced sharing of interests, emotions, or affect; to failure to initiate or respond to social interactions.
• Deficits in nonverbal communicative behaviors used for social interaction, ranging, for example, from poorly integrated verbal and nonverbal communication; to abnormalities in eye contact and body language or deficits in understanding and use of gestures; to a total lack of facial expressions and nonverbal communication.
• Deficits in developing, maintaining, and understanding relationships, ranging, for example, from difficulties adjusting behavior to suit various social contexts; to difficulties in sharing imaginative play or in making friends; to absence of interest in peers.

DEFECIT-FOCUSED LANGUAGE

It’s ingrained but unnecessary + pathologising

• Autistic traits are human traits!
• Value judgements are unnecessary!

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PERSON FIRST or IDENTITY FIRST?

PERSON with autism AUTISTIC person

PERSON with disability DISABLED person

PERSON FIRST or IDENTITY FIRST?

PERSON with autism AUTISTIC person

PERSON with disability DISABLED person

ASK!

They aren’t ‘bad words’

SPOON THEORY

• Spoons = metaphor for our energy
• chronic illness, mental illnesses, neurospicy folk
• Each day we start with a limited amount of spoons
• Tasks use different amounts of spoons
• For neurodivergent people:
• tasks use way more spoons
• we start with fewer spoons

SPOON THEORY

• Some things give us spoons - rest, special interests
• We can borrow spoons from the next day if we run out, but then we’ll have less spoons when we wake up tomorrow
• If we run out of spoons, we just have nothing left:
• We can’t do things; can’t focus; we’re really sensitive; we might melt down, shut down, or dissociate

SPOON THEORY

UNDERDIAGNOSIS

• Women and gender diverse people are vastly underdiagnosed
• Due to stigma + stereotypes
• Leads to masking, shame, misunderstanding
• Yellow Ladybugs (be ready on Wednesday!)

RESOURCES TO AVOID

• Autism Speaks, Light it up blue

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• ABA therapy
• Created by psychologist Ivar Lovaas:
• Also invented gay conversion therapy
• “you start pretty much from scratch when you work with an autistic child. [...] They have hair and a nose and a mouth, but they are not people in a psychological sense.”
• Behaviourism

BEHAVIOURISM

• Ableist principles that focus on behaviours and not the underlying needs
• Aims at forcing autistics to integrate into allistic society, rather than accommodating autism as a natural neurological variation
• Still funded by the NDIS in Australia

WHAT CAN YOU DO TO BE

NEUROAFFIRMING & INCLUSIVE?

• Listen to neurodivergent friends and peers
• Learn about neurodiversity from neurodivergent people
• #ActuallyAutistic - look for this wherever you go!
• YouTube:
• paige layle
• taylor heaton: Mom on the Spectrum
• samantha stein: Yo Samdy Sam

ADHD

02

ADHD

02

(way more chaotic and way less in-depth 😁)

FAST FACTS

• ADHD = Attention Deficit—HEY DONUTS!

FAST FACTS

• ADHD = Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder

FAST FACTS

• ADHD = Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder

Terrible name

FAST FACTS

• ADHD = Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder
• Hyperactive type - your stereotype
• Inattentive type - internalised hyperactivity
• Combined type - most common

FAST FACTS

• ADHD = Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder
• Hyperactive type - your stereotype
• Inattentive type - internalised hyperactivity
• Combined type - most common
• Approx 1 in 20 Australians has ADHD

FAST FACTS

• ADHD = Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder
• Hyperactive type - your stereotype
• Inattentive type - internalised hyperactivity
• Combined type - most common
• Approx 1 in 20 Australians has ADHD
• ONCE AGAIN, people who are not cis men are underdiagnosed

FAST FACTS

• ADHD = Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder
• Hyperactive type - your stereotype
• Inattentive type - internalised hyperactivity
• Combined type - most common
• Approx 1 in 20 Australians has ADHD
• ONCE AGAIN, people who are not cis men are underdiagnosed
• Alternative name: Kinetic Cognitive Style

ANOTHER ANALOGY

ANOTHER ANALOGY

ANOTHER ANALOGY

CONTEMPORARY AUSTRALIAN MUSIC

ANOTHER ANALOGY

CONTEMPORARY AUSTRALIAN MUSIC

ADHD TRAITS

• Losing stuff all the time
• Restlessness
• Executive dysfunction (planning)
• Short attention span
• Hyperfocus periods
• Impulsivity - shopping
• RSD (rejection sensitivity dysphoria)
• Demand avoidance

• Interrupting conversations
• Chatterbox
• Many random short-lived interests (think: “I’ve quit more things than you’ve started ”)
• Random tangents
• and SOO much more...

ADHD TERMS

• ADHD Tax
• Body doubling
• Demand avoidance
• Rejection sensitivity dysphoria

HAPPY

MONDAY!

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take care <3

HAPPY

MONDAY!

​

take care <3

You can ask questions

HAPPY

MONDAY!

​

take care <3

You can leave

You can ask questions

HAPPY

MONDAY!

​

take care <3

You can leave

You can ask questions

You can stay to photograph resources

NEURODIVERSITY RESOURCES!

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• Neurodivergent Glossary: https://stimpunks.org/glossary/
• #ActuallyAutistic - look for this wherever you go!
• SSO-Portal:-https://sites.google.com/education.nsw.gov.au/sso-support-portal/neurodiversity#h.b8c7bnyp4sja
• A-great-panel:-https://stream.sydneyoperahouse.com/videos/actually-autistic-all-about-women-2023
• Grace Tame, Chloe Hayden, Jac den Houting & Amy Thunig
• Neurodiversity Week activities
• YouTube channels:
• paige layle
• Mom on the Spectrum

• Yo Samdy Sam
• How to ADHD