Neurodivergent clients can present with complex cognitive, emotional and behavioral patterns that make achieving treatment outcomes more challenging. Our roles as clinicians can include not only accurately diagnosing these individuals, but providing psychoeducation and support to the client and their family; and shaping our interventions so they best meet the needs of a brain that might experience the world in ways that are significantly different than our neurotypical clients.
In this talk, Dr. Silver will cover the following key ideas regarding neurodivergence:
1. Fundamentals of diagnosis of Autism Spectrum Disorder and ADHD/ Executive Dysfunction;
2. The inner experience of the neurodivergent individual: how the “neurospicy” brain struggles to make sense of the neurotypical world;
3. Using a later-life diagnosis as a new framework for organizing one’s understanding of life;
4. Talking with families: helping them understand the neurodivergent journey
5. Foundational treatment considerations: emotional dysregulation, executive dysfunction, cognitive rigidity, social skills, medication management
6. Creating a neuroaffirming relationship with our neurodivergent clients
