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Working with Neurodivergent Families: A Strength-based Approach

This is an archive of a past event.

“Neurodiversity” means that children’s and adult’s brains develop and function in meaningfully variable ways across populations.  Neurodivergent people self-identify as having different ways of thinking, feeling and responding to their worlds compared to typically developing people, often related to specific profiles that include autism, attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and intellectual disability.   We will provide a brief overview of more common neurodevelopmental profiles and discuss our clinical, research and quality improvement work with neurodivergent caregivers and children.  We will then describe how this has informed our adaptation of a strength-based, tailored family support model and enriched our understanding of the joys and challenges of parenting.

By the end of this event, participants will be able to:

  1. Recognize neurodevelopmental profiles related to autism, ADHD and intellectual disability as they relate to caregivers and parents.
  2. Develop an approach discussing neurodevelopmental strengths and challenges with caregivers/parents as they relate to supporting their young child’s mental health and development.
  3. Review qualitative research themes and clinical interview findings in which neurodivergent caregivers provide perspectives and preferences for provision of care.
  4. Consider how to tailor parenting and family management support for neurodivergent caregivers and children using a strength-based neurodiversity lens.

Presenter(s)

Dr.’s Terry Bennett and Natalie Raso are Child and Adolescent Psychiatrists at McMaster Children’s Hospital.  Dr. Bennett is a researcher with the Offord Centre for Child Studies and the McMaster Autism Research Team (MacART) at McMaster University. Dr. Raso specializes in inpatient and medical psychiatry and clinical quality improvement.  They share an interest in family-centered care and the mental health of neurodivergent children.

Dr. Mackenzie Salt is a postdoctoral fellow at the Offord Centre for Child Studies and the Autism Alliance of Canada.  He is an autistic autism researcher and is finalizing work on the Canadian Autistic Adult Needs Assessment Survey involving over 1900 respondents across Canada age 30+ years.