- Remember that Neurodivergent people can be highly sensitive to emotions, touch, smell, noise.
- These can both create and exacerbate heightened states of distress.
- Removing sensory traffic should be the first step.
- Provide processing space and permission to regulate (e.g., moving the body as needed).
- Did the practitioner identify challenges and plan for coping strategies?
KEY ISSUES
Neurodivergent clients may experience distress for various reasons (e.g., miscommunication, misinterpretations, sensory discomfort, emotion overwhelm). Neurodivergent clients may require different responses to distress. It is therefore advisable to ask each client during the assessment stage what they can do if a distressing event occurs, and what practitioners can do to support them. In the first instance, this will form part of an initial assessment (see section 5.2). However, there will also be circumstances where an assessment has not revealed this information (e.g., because neurodivergence was not known, client unconsciously responds to dysregulation in the nervous system; client did not feel comfortable disclosing). In the event of sensory overload or other hypo/hypersensitivities (e.g., emotional overwhelm), it may be impossible to communicate present state or needs, and their responses may also be misinterpreted. The following section can be applied within group work and/or one to one session or format.
PRACTICAL TIPS
General
- Remove sensory stimulus (lower lights, pause, provide space for processing).
- Provide permission/space to regulate (e.g., leaving the room, stimming).
- Be aware of own presentation: Neurodivergent clients may look to the space holder to locate an appropriate reaction/response.
- Exhibit calm responsiveness, do not be widely reactive42.
- When miscommunication or mistakes happen, own your own part in this to model accountability and repair (ibid).
- When the client or someone else is creating an unsafe environment, ask them to leave (while taking into consideration safety for the client, practitioner, partner, children).
- Re-visit mindfulness/regulation/re-grounding techniques/skills (e.g., those which are embedded within the intervention curriculum; see also ‘Pause of Presence’, section 5.4g).
Specific
- Did the client state what being in distress would look like for them? (e.g., hypo/hypersensitivity, sensory discomfort).
- What did the client ask that you say/do in this moment (e.g., does the client need to move around, take a break?).
- Neurodivergent people may not always process or cope with stressful situations in a conscious manner.
- Be curious: say ‘I can see there may be something going on for you’; ‘what can I do for you right now?’
(42)
Aldred and Aldred (2023). Embodied Education: Creating Safe Space.
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