Is the neurodiversity movement a social justice issue? How can we convince the world that differences aren’t deficits? Many of our widely-held beliefs are grounded in fairly obvious ableism. Dr. Bibi Pirayesh is a learning specialist and educational therapist, and founder of the Differences Are Not Deficits Project. She speaks out with Emily Kircher-Morris on episode 170.

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Dr. Bibi Pirayesh works with children in grades 1-12 with a wide range of learning difficulties, including dyslexia, ADHD, and spectrum disorders. Her work as a learning specialist and educational therapist in private practice emphasizes on remediating learning disabilities in a one-on-one setting. Dr. Pirayesh is also a speaker and community advocate for children and families around learning rights. In 2020, Dr. Pirayesh launched The Different is Not Deficit Project to promote the importance of seeing learning disabilities as a social justice issue.

In addition to her private practice and advocacy work, she is also adjunct faculty at Pepperdine University’s Graduate School of Education and Psychology. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Neuroscience and Education from the University of Pittsburgh, and a Master’s Degree in Developmental Psychology from Columbia University.