Bryden Carlson-Giving is a Neurodivergent occupational therapist and activist who combines clinical expertise with lived experience to champion inclusive, anti-ableist practice. He earned his post-professional doctorate from Boston University, where he developed a toolkit to help occupational therapy practitioners challenge ableism in pediatric settings - work that led to the creation of the EMPOWER model, the first neurodiversity-focused occupational therapy framework. Bryden is the founder of Neurodivergent Nexus, an online resource hub for supporting anti-ableist OT practice and is the recipient of Boston Universitys Emerging Leader Award. Based in Minnesota, he works in the public schools to foster equitable practices that affirm the identities of all students.
Description
Table of Contents Co-Authors and Contributors Foreword by Winnie Dunn Preface Bryden Carlson-Giving Key Notes About the Book Chapter 1 - Introduction to Neurodiversity Lori Vaughn, Christopher D. Edwards, and Sarah Selvaggi Hernandez Spotlight: How Neurodivergence and Transness Have Brought Me Home Aster Gallus Chapter 2 - Disability and Ableism: Models, Perspectives, & Implications for Occupational Therapy Alisa Jordan Sheth & Laura VanPuymbrouck Chapter 3 - Neurodiversity & Occupation Aaron R. Dallman and Melanie E. Wright Spotlight: The Occupations of Communication and Playwriting Sofi Ghassaei and Bryden Carlson-Giving Chapter 4 - Disability Justice Bryden Carlson-Giving and LaVonne Fox with Sam Brandsen, Maya Brandsen, Diamond Rashad, Razan Hamad, Khalilah R. Johnson, Shayda Kafai, Toni Saia, Georgia Vine, and Daryl Patrick Yao Chapter 5 - The Bodys Story: Trauma, Interoception & Occupational Therapy Katie ODay & Kelly Mahler Spotlight: Trauma-Informed Approaches for Supporting Individuals with IDD Sam Brandsen Chapter 6 - Antiracism Occupational Therapy Practice: Why, What, How? Musharrat J. Ahmed-Landeryou Chapter 7 - Strengths-Based Approaches: Foundations for Practice and Anti-Ableist Occupational Therapy Education Kavitha Murthi and Kristie K. Patten Spotlight - Supporting Individuals with High Support Needs Through a Strength-Based Approach Lucio Serio, Kelsie Reed, Breea M. Rosas, and Haley Biddanda Chapter 8 - Critical Reflexivity Julia Sterman and Janet Njelesani Chapter 9 - Inclusive Evaluations Lisa Marnell, Kathryn L. Hansen, Rachel Robertson, and Bryden Carlson-Giving Spotlight - The Cultural Identity Assessment Mary Katherine Howell Chapter 10 - Neurodivergent Empowerment: Affirming Practices and Supportive Strategies Amy Laurent and Lisa Marnell Chapter 11 - Advocacy Greg Boheler, Jacklyn Boheler, and Elizabeth Duffy Spotlight - Sass Meets Advocacy: Wit and Wisdom from a Nonspeaking Advocate Bri Guerra and Bryden Carlson-Giving Chapter 12 - The Empowering Neurodivergent Occupational Participation and Well-being (EMPOWER) Model Bryden Carlson-Giving Chapter 13: Stories of Practice Elizabeth Duffy, Kelsie Olds, Stephanie Olszewski, Robert B. Pereira, and Rachel Robertson Acknowledgements Appendix A - Reflections for Change Appendix B - Matrices for Action Appendix C - List of Supplemental Downloads and Resources in the Vault
Reviews
Karen Whalley Hammell PhD., Honorary Professor, Department of Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy, University of British Columbia
This is a remarkable book that provides an accessible, yet scholarly introduction to neurodiversity-affirming occupational therapy. Centered both on disability justice and on the enhancement of meaningful occupational engagement, the various contributors contest ableism, challenge personal and professional assumptions, and promote a strengths-based approach to the provision of occupational therapy that fosters an understanding of both neurodiversity and queerness as naturally-occurring dimensions within the spectrum of human variations. This book has provided me with knowledge from which I am both learning and reflecting, and I unreservedly recommend it to my international occupational therapy colleagues.
Kieran Rose, Consultant, Researcher, Author. www.theautisticadvocate.com
This book reconnects the work of occupational therapy to its foundations of embodied social justice, human rights, and resistance to oppression. Rigorous and courageous, this collection interrogates the structural and cultural forces that shape practice, grounding its analysis in disability justice, and inviting practitioners to think critically, challenge themselves, and be bold. For anyone seeking to shift their practice from affirming to transformative, this is an essential resource.
Aster Harrison, PhD., OTD, OTR/L, Post-Doctoral Scholar at Aix-Marseille Université
This text is full of practical guidance for OT practitioners to embrace anti-ableist approaches to practice. It takes a refreshingly intersectional anti-oppressive approach that moves our profession in the right direction. For those curious about neurodiversity and related paradigms, this book can serve as an inspiring introduction. For the social justice-minded OTPs working to rebuild OT from its very foundations, this text provides concrete tools and a precious reminder that we are not alone.
Antoine L. Bailliard, Ph.D., M.S., OTR/L, FAOTA, Professor of Occupational Therapy at Duke University School of Medicine
Neurodiversity-Affirming Occupational Therapy is a groundbreaking contribution to occupational therapy and occupational justice. It offers a bold, compassionate, and practical guide for enacting anti-ableist, antiracist, strengths-based, and trauma-informed practices. It accomplishes this by blending theory, research, and personal narratives while integrating diverse voices from neurodivergent authors, activists, and scholars.
Greg Santucci, MS, OTR Founder of ClimbRx and Executive Director of Power Play Pediatric Therapy
This gloriously radical book teaches OT practitioners that neurodiversity is not just a buzzword, but a biological reality. The authors of this book, each in their unique way, provide a clear roadmap to improving neurodiversity-affirming practice, while inspiring the reader to level up their commitment to helping individuals be their true authentic self while pursuing meaningful occupations.
Rachel Ashcraft, OTR/L, FAOTA, TBRI® Practitioner and Program Director for the University of Alabama in Multitiered Approach to Trauma Graduate Certificate. Co-editor of Trauma, Occupation, and Participation.
Neurodiversity-Affirming Occupational Therapy invites us to envision our work, our relationships, and ourselves through the lens of radical inclusion. In reading this incredible text, I laughed, I cried, I wondered, I felt pangs in my heart that may be something like hope. This text offers us a path forward, one that insists occupational therapy be rooted in justice and demands accountability. At the same time, this book is like a loving mentor, pulling up a seat beside us and gently guiding us toward something better.
Georgia Vine, Occupational Therapist, Disability Activist, and Author of Occupational Therapy, Disability Activism, and Me
This is one of the best pieces of current activism I have seen in the profession! Dr. Bryden Carlson-Giving and the books co-authors skillfully outline the relationship between concepts such as disability justice, anti-racism, trauma-informed care, strengths-based practice and more to give the reader tangible actions points to implement into their practice. This book will enable everyone no matter where they are in their journey to allyship to take direct action and critically challenge systems.