The Psych Hive in Deakin feels more like a Home Beautiful spread than a doctor's office. It is the culmination of a dream of three psychologists who wanted to create a neurodiversity affirming practice.
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In this office, neurodivergent children and adults are healed and helped, not changed or "fixed", co-founder Brianna Thomas says.
Ms Thomas' passion for embracing neurodiversity comes from a personal place. She was diagnosed with autism and attention deficit and hyperactive disorder (ADHD) as an adult.
"Neuro-affirming is when you put at the core of your practice or your parenting or your friendship the needs and values of the person who is neurodivergent," she said.
"It means considering their strengths [and] it means looking it as a difference and celebrating that difference, instead of looking at as a deficit. It also means allowing for accommodations."
The great things about being neurodivergent
Children who are autistic or have ADHD can feel different and stigmatised, and carry that shame with them throughout their lives.
Neuro-affirming parents are their child's "biggest advocate".
"That might mean advocating at the school, amongst friendship groups, teaching them how to love and celebrate their differences [and] really celebrating their strengths," Ms Thomson said.
While parenting or caring for a neurodivergent child can come with challenges, it is important to understand they are living in a world not designed for them, Ms Thomson said.
"A child with ADHD will be told that they're too much because the world was not made for them. It was made for kids who can sit still, and who can concentrate for long periods of time, and who can do the tricky things and do the boring things," she said.
People with ADHD are energetic, creative, spontaneous, adaptable and resilient.
"Autistic kids are careful thinkers, and they have such deep and beautiful interests in things in the world and we desperately need that," Ms Thomson said.
"The world desperately needs their deep and careful thinking."
'All children are beautiful'
Neurodiversity refers to the spectrum of thinking across the entire population. Just as a neurotypical person cannot change their brain, a neurodivegent one cannot either, Ms Thomson says.
There has been a paradigm shift from seeing autism as something to be cured, to supported, autism expert Professor Andrew Whitehouse said.
"The way in which we view autism has changed dramatically over the last 20 years, from a disability that requires curing, to an inextricably linked aspect of who that human is," he said.
"We've also seen [some tension], where therapies that may have existed 20 years ago, that sought to really try and change the child's behaviour to make them more neurotypical, are seen in a new light."
Helping children be adaptive in the world can still be neuro-affirming, Dr Whitehouse said.
"How do they develop language? How can we help these children toilet and feed?" he said.
"There are absolutely ways in which all therapies can be consistent with that neuro-affirming approach. But it does require time, it does require adaptation."
Finding a neuro-affirming service
Parents should understand the evidence behind the therapies they are using, Dr Whitehouse said.
"Evidence is the way that guides us and then find a therapy and service provider who aligns with your views of your child, that will celebrate them, that will nurture them and then will help them be whoever they want to be," he said.
Just because a therapy uses rewards, does not mean it is neuro-affirming, Ms Thomson said.
"If parents are trying to decide if their service is neurodiversity affirming, they can think about whether that service is celebrating the young person or is trying to fix the young person," she said.
"Celebrating the young person or is it trying to steer the young person towards neurotypical norms?
"Are they trying to tweak things? Are they using rewards to tweak things? Or am I actually just letting the young person be themselves?"