4 Parts to Neurodiversity-Affirming Assessment
What does it mean to be a neurodiversity affirming testing psychologist?
The neurodiversity movement has completely shifted the way we think about developmental differences such as ADHD, autism, learning disabilities, and more.
We know that different is not broken. In fact, the differences in the way our brains are built are a natural and necessary part of what helps us thrive as humans.
As the field of psychology begins to understand and embrace the neurodiversity paradigm, there are many resources available for neurodiversity-affirming therapy and teaching practices to align with how these brains work best – once they have a diagnosis.
But how do we approach assessment with this same neurodiversity-affirming lens, before we know if the child has a specific diagnosis to affirm?
A New Assessment Paradigm
Traditionally, the purpose of assessment is to determine if a child meets criteria for a disorder, and then to find ways to fix what’s wrong so the child can be more “normal.”
Shifting to a neurodiversity-affirming lens also shifts our goal:
Neurodiversity affirmative assessment means identifying the mismatch between a child’s brain and their environment’s expectations, helping the child to be more fully themselves.

In this workshop, we’ll explore 4 main pieces to an affirming process:
- Shifting the lens at intake: How to help parents see the positive side of their child’s challenges
- Assessing collaboratively: How to use our testing tools to understand the child’s lived experience
- Affirming report writing: How to write neurodiversity-affirming reports in parent-friendly language
- Empowering Feedback: How to explain different profiles to families and children in neurodiversity affirming ways
At the end of the workshop, you’ll walk away with tools to turn your assessment process from a diagnostic process to an empowerment process – for both children and their families.