Therapist Neurodiversity Collective

12/15/2025

Learn in a like-minded community - Alliance Against Seclusion and Restraint's book club is changing lives.

Registration is now open for our 2026 book studies. The first one of the year will be Alfie Kohn's Punished by Rewards. See the link in the comments for more information and to register.

11/21/2025

I feel like we are living in a dystopian novel. Vaccines are lifesaving.

Decades of rigorous, independent research involving millions of children continue to show the same result: Vaccines, including the measles, mumps, and rubella or MMR vaccine, do not cause autism. This conclusion has been affirmed across countries, populations, and research methods and it is strongly supported by national disability organizations, public health experts, and medical professionals. For more information visit The Truth About Autism and Vaccines VYF-ASF Guide 2025: https://vaccinateyourfamily.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/The-Truth-About-Autism-and-Vaccines-VYF-ASF-Guide-2025-Color.pdf.

11/19/2025

Hey Community, It's 12:58 in the morning and in a few hours I will be presenting the second three hours of "The Neurodiversity Paradigm: Ethical and Evidence-Based Approaches to Client Care Across the Lifespan" to the Newfoundland and Labrador Health Services SLPs.

Last week someone asked me "what this kind of communication looked like" (talking about delayed Echolalia, autistic intersubjectivity, relevance theory in regard to the double empathy problem, diversity in social intelligence, etc.) I went looking on the page for this example conversation between P and me and, wow! it was in 2022.

Sadly, though it's now 2025, things haven't changed much as most SLPs are still writing goals for deficient topic maintenance (seemingly off topic interjections in conversations), rather than analyzing the social communication exchange and asking “What is this utterance doing?” Because for us, it's meaningful and relevant even if the professional doesn't get it.

Then I saw that it's been about a month since I have posted anything at all here on this page. Yikes! Sorry about that. Personal life has been filled with two scary scans for me and follow up appointments, tremendous sadness over my friend's bad news, preparing for 6 hour training events, worrying about the prices of pretty much everything, and, oh, trying to process the ease with which some of the wealthiest people in the U.S. (the world, actually) can sleep at night while taking away SNAP from food insecure babies and grandmas just to prove a political point, not caring if humans (like me) can afford the health insurance plan (ACA) that is literally keeping us alive, gutting special education / the department of education, disappearing entire brown communities and traumatizing so many others, etc. It's like trying to drink from a fire hose. Every. Single. Day. Basically dealing with significant burn out, anxiety, and overall sadness and grief.

What about everyone else? How are you?

I am hoping I will mentally and physically recover enough to begin engaging regularly again, soon. I want to (well at least I want to want to). Warmly, Julie

10/21/2025

I made this poster in 2021 after reading ASAN’s "For Whose Benefit" and thinking about how often language and practice get reshaped into something that sounds kind but still centers compliance. I wanted a simple, shareable reminder for therapists and educators about what truly neurodiversity-affirming practice looks like: presume competence, respect informed consent, center Autistic lived experience, and refuse goals that aim to normalize or mask autistic communication.
On the other side I call out Neurodiversity Lite — the performative, expen$ive version that talks the talk but still trains people to fit neurotypical expectations. My hope is that this poster helps clinicians name the difference, have courageous conversations with colleagues, and choose approaches that honor autonomy, dignity, and unrestricted access to supports.

If you’d like a copy, there’s a link in the comments to download the poster for free. You do not need to give your email or sign up for anything. – Julie ♡

________________________________________
Image Description:
A two-column infographic compares “Neurodiversity Affirming” versus “Neurodiversity Lite” therapy approaches. The left column (in blue) emphasizes human-rights-based, neurodivergent-affirming principles such as presuming competence, respecting informed consent, and supporting authentic autistic development. The right column (in light gray-blue) critiques performative “Autism Intervention” models that claim to respect neurodiversity but still promote compliance, masking, and normalization. Quotes, short lists, and bold text contrast affirming versus harmful practices. The bottom cites the Therapist Neurodiversity Collective and credits ASAN’s “For Whose Benefit” report.

Alt Text:
Infographic comparing Neurodiversity-Affirming and Neurodiversity-Lite therapy approaches, highlighting affirming, rights-based practice versus compliance-based “Autism Intervention.” Created by Therapist Neurodiversity Collective, adapted from ASAN’s “For Whose Benefit.”

10/21/2025

Performative Neurodiversity – the appropriation and watering down of a Human Rights Movement for profit (link to article in comments):

"Neurodiversity lite has created a cottage industry for therapists, clinics, and companies to sell their associated products, classes, books, and training to the public without having a clue about neurodiversity. Suddenly, everyone is ‘neurodiversity-affirming' and ca$hing in. If you are spending your money on a neurodiversity product, it doesn't necessarily mean your money is going to someone who is knowledgeable about the movement, and it doesn’t mean that their product or masterclass or handbook is going to end up helping neurodivergent people in a neurodiversity-affirming manner.

Parents of autistic and otherwise neurodivergent children and teens who are seeking out information about neurodiversity, as well as therapists who genuinely want to learn about the neurodiversity movement so they may adopt respectful and empathetic neurodivergent-affirming practices, are paying outrageous prices for anything associated with 'neurodiversity', but are they actually getting their money's worth?..."

10/21/2025

I first shared this list, "10 Neurodiversity-Affirming Therapy Principles to Live By," here on this page back in 2020, and several times since in various forms. It was also published on the Therapist Neurodiversity Collective website in 2022 in the article, Neurodiversity-Affirming Therapy: Positions, Therapy Goals, and Best Practices (written by me, Julie Roberts 😊).

If you’re curious about what truly neurodiversity-affirming support can look like in practice, the full article (linked in the comments) dives deep into the principles behind this list and offers practical guidance for therapists and educators.

Here’s the text from the video:
1) Abandon ABA, IBI, NDBI & all other behavioral, compliance-based, restrictive & controlling approaches.
2) Advocate, validate, accept autistic & neurodivergent diversity in social intelligence.
3) Advocate for & train autistic acceptance (play, perspectives, behavior & social communication differences, sensory needs).
4) Seek to understand behaviors, & make sure these needs are
met: communication, sensory environment, supports, barriers.
5) “Therapy vs cure” means self-determined quality of life vs hide / change / eliminate neurodivergent characteristics.
6) Reject normalization goals that induce trauma, autistic masking, loss of autonomy, personal agency, authenticity.
7) Abandon social skills training goals that shame & lead to autistic masking & poor mental health outcomes.
8) Replace SST with neurodiversity-affirming social communication assessment and therapy***
9) Conduct respectful, informed assessments; write evidence-based, strength-based reports & empowering goals.
10) Focus on communication, self-advocacy, boundaries & consent, safe vs unsafe, harmful vs helpful & acceptance of authenticity.

10/20/2025

***Folks, if you’re here to debate/defend ABA, I’m too exhausted for that nonsense tonight; comments will be deleted, and repeat offenders, blocked.
——————
Just read an ABA apologist post by an Autistic influencer with 11k likes. The majority of the FB commentor accounts I clicked on were: parents who had kids in ABA or ABA providers (BCBAs, RBTs, and people in school studying to become a provider). There were a handful of people who identified themselves as Autistic, too. It made me sad.
✨✨✨And then, the next post I saw was from Helen Autistic Realms, sharing a brand new, important article by Alliance Against Seclusion and Restraint that speaks to the problems with “trauma informed ABA.” I hope you will read and share it widely. 🩷

(Link is in comments so there’s the slightest possibility that FB might actually show this post to more than 8 followers.)

10/20/2025

Hi friends,
I’ve been receiving quite a few emails lately from therapists asking if they can pay a fee to be added to the Therapist Neurodiversity Collective’s online directory. It feels important to pause and re-share what this Collective actually is, and what it is not - especially as the language of neurodiversity has been appropriated, commercialized, and stripped of its original intent.
So, here’s a quick re-introduction to our directory and the therapists who are part of it, for anyone newer to this space or curious about who is listed in our directory:

Therapist Neurodiversity Collective® is the original international organization of individually vetted, trauma-informed, neurodiversity-affirming therapists.

🔹 Established in January 2018, long before “neurodiversity” became a buzzword, branding gimmick, or a profitable trend for social media influencers, the Collective has always centered its ethical therapy practices on the neurodiversity paradigm. We are united in advocacy for human rights and neurodiversity affirming therapy practices.

🔹 Every therapist listed in our Directory has been carefully and individually vetted by Therapist Neurodiversity Collective for licensure, credentials, and a documented commitment to our ethics and core values.

🔹 We do not sell directory listings. Inclusion in our Directory is not pay-to-play—it is earned through a steadfast adherence to ethical and affirming therapy practices, ensuring the Collective's high standards for "neurodiversity-affirming" are not diluted by performative claims or superficial branding.

🔹 Credibility and authenticity matter when it comes to therapies for Autistic and other Neurodivergent individuals. The Therapist Neurodiversity Collective® has been a trusted leader in shaping what ethical therapy looks like within a neurodiversity paradigm framework since 2018.

10/13/2025

Last call for tomorrow's live course: Unapologetic Voices – Resisting the Mixed Messaging of Stuttering Therapy

This live professional development course is taught by Dr. Geoffrey Coalson, PhD, CCC-SLP — a stutterer, researcher, professor, clinician, and parent of a child who stutters. His work is shifting the field toward therapy that respects autonomy and communication rights instead of fluency performance.

💡If you’ve felt the tension between “I support neurodiversity” and targeting fluency in therapy, this professional development session will speak directly to that.

Link in comments / bio.

09/28/2025

Could you please share Alliance Against Seclusion and Restraint’s survey with your friends and communities? Important work being done. With gratitude - Julie

Have You Been Restrained or Secluded? Our research survey is still open, and we need to hear your voice and experience.

09/23/2025

Dear Community,
It’s been a while since I’ve been here. I’ve needed time away from social media, both to take care of personal matters and to process the very real weight of what’s happening in the U.S.A. The deep cuts and eliminations of food, housing, healthcare, and disability safety nets, the war on education, science, and medicine, the growing concentration of executive power, and the escalating harm these shifts create for marginalized communities like ours — all of it has been overwhelming and, at times, profoundly discouraging.

Even in the heaviness, my commitment to this work remains steadfast. I’d love for you to join me and the Alliance Against Seclusion and Restraint on October 13 for their study group’s discussion of my article, Performative Neurodiversity – the appropriation and watering down of a Human Rights Movement for profit.

Details for the session and the link to the article will be in the comments. I hope to see many of you there. Warmly and with gratitude, Julie 💗∞

08/21/2025

I am sharing an important new article from my friend, Anne Borden King about Autistic children still (in 2025!) being harmed (and killed) in bogus clinical trials. If you are a parent, therapist, or educator of an Autistic young person, this is essential reading...
⚠️⚠️⚠️ "As I write this in 2025, it was just reported that a child died while receiving “treatments” for ADHD in a Hyperbaric Oxygen (HBOT) chamber. How can it be that there so many studies on HBOT registered on clinicaltrials (gov site), when it is clearly risky and there is no evidence of its benefit for autistic people? Why--just three years ago--was Duke University allowed to infuse autistic children with stem cells, in a succession of clinical trials, just to see randomly if it made them less autistic? (It didn’t.) And how on earth did regulators allow Duke to charge families for this useless experiment?"
(Link in comments)