August 21, 2022

164: Supporting Neurodivergent Children with Dr. Hanna Bertilsdotter-Rosqvist

48 minutes

Parents have been asking me for episodes on neurodivergence for a while now so I’m hoping this episode will become the start of a mini-series. In this first conversation I talk with Dr. Hanna Bertilsdotter-Rosqvist, co-author of the new book Neurodiveristy Studies: A New Critical Paradigm. We look at this topic through the lens of autism, and I share some information I found to be pretty surprising when, out of curiosity, I took the Autism Spectrum Quotient screening online.

We discuss ways that schools, workplaces, and the wider world could better accommodate neurodivergent people, both so neurodivergent people can live the fullest expression of themselves, and also so everyone can benefit from their ideas, experience, and expertise.

While this episode uses autism as a lens through which to discuss neurodiversity, the ideas in it can be applied to other types of neurodiversity including Asperger’s syndrome, dyslexia, dyscalculia, ADHD, synesthesia, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and Tourette syndrome.

I also see neurodiversity as much more broad than the typical way this term is used, which tends to be used to mean “a person with a disorder that makes them not as good as a normal person.” I see us all as neurodiverse, each with our own unique combination of talents and struggles, so we should support children in learning in the way that’s uniquely suited to them.

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Dr. Hanna Bertilsdotter-Rosqvist's Book

Neurodiversity Studies: A New Critical Paradigm (Routledge Advances in Sociology) (Affiliate link).

Jump to highlights

00:44 Introduction of episode

04:16 Communication barriers between neurodivergent people and neurotypical people

06:05 Miscommunication translation with neurodivergent children

15:41 Social model usefulness

16:38 Why autism should be in the DSM

18:58 Difference in non-verbal communication between neurotypical and neurodivergent people

30:13 Should schools give more space for understanding neurodivergent people

32:24 The value that neurodivergent people bring to society

36:18 Parents' role in effectively supporting neurodivergent children

40:15 What should the school system look like if it was supportive of neurodivergent children

42:00 What therapies should we offer and to whom

45:22 What can we do to support neurodivergent people

References:

Bertilsdotter-Rosqvist, H., Chown, N., and Stenning, A. (2020). Neurodiversity studies: A new critical paradigm. London: Routledge.

Bertilsdotter Rosqvist, H. (2019). Knowing what to do: Exploring meanings of development and peer support aimed at people with autism. International Journal of Inclusive Education, 23(2), 174-187.

Bertilsdotter-Rosqvist, H. B., & Brownlow, C. (2015). “What’s the point of having friends?”: Reformulating Notions of the Meaning of Friends and Friendship among Autistic People. Disability Studies Quarterly, 35(4).

Bertilsdotter-Rosqvist, H. (2013). Doing adulthood through parenthood: Notions of parenthood among people with cognitive disabilities. Alter 7(1), 56-68.

Bertilsdotter-Rosqvist, H. (2012). Practice, practice: notions of adaptation and normality among adults with Asperger syndrome. Disability Studies Quarterly, 32(2).

Bertilsdotter Rosqvist, H., Brownlow, C., & O'Dell, L. (2015). ‘An Association for All’—Notions of the Meaning of Autistic Self‐Advocacy Politics within a Parent‐Dominated Autistic Movement. Journal of Community & Applied Social Psychology, 25(3), 219-231.

Brownlow, C., Bertilsdotter Rosqvist, H., & O'Dell, L. (2015). Exploring the potential for social networking among people with autism: Challenging dominant ideas of ‘friendship’. Scandinavian Journal of Disability Research, 17(2), 188-193.

Egner, J.E. (2019). “The disability rights community was never mine”: Neuroqueer disidentification. Gender & Society 33(1), 123-147.

Lovgren, V., & Bertilsdotter-Rosqvist, H. (2014). ‘More time for what?’ Exploring intersecting notions of gender, work, age and leisure time among people with cognitive disabilities. International Journal of Social Welfare 24(3), 263-272.

Metell, M. (2019). How we talk when we talk about disabled children and their families: An invitation to queer the discourse. Voices: A world forum for music therapy 19(3), 1-12.

O’Dell, L., Bertilsdotter-Rosqvist, H., Ortega, F., Brownlow, C., & Orsini, M. (2016). Critical autism studies: Exploring dialogues and intersections, challenging dominant understandings of autism. Disability & Society 31(2), 166-179.

Ross, H. (2021). “I’m dyslexic but what does that even mean?”: Young people’s experiences of dyslexia support interventions in mainstream classrooms. Scandanavian Journal of Disability Research 23(1), 284-294.

Starke, M., Bertilsdotter Rosqvist, H., & Kuosmanen, J. (2016). Eternal children? Professionals’ construction of women with an intellectual disability who are victims of a sexual crime. Sexuality and Disability 34, 315-328.

Stenning, A., & Bertilsdotter Rosqvist, H. (2021). Neurodiversity studies: Mapping out possibilities of a new critical paradigm. Disability & Society 36(9), 1532-1537.

Walker, N. (2021). Neuroqueer heresies: Notes on the neurodiversity paradigm, autistic empowerment, and postnormal possibilities. San Antonio: Autonomous.

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By Jen Lumanlan

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