It is no longer the case that only clinicians based in specialist neurodevelopmental services work with autism and ADHD. Many of us have found that as these diagnostic categories have expanded, more and more of the people we work with have begun to understand their experiences through this lens. Diagnosis, we are often told, opens new doors for self-understanding, and a can serve as a gateway to support.
Who are we, as professionals, to gatekeep such self-understanding and support? Or is it all a bit more complicated than that?
In this episode of Let’s Talk Neurosense, Ron Dodzro tells us how neurodiversity has been showing up in his work with local communities in Brixton, South London. He talks about the increased awareness that he has noticed amongst the people he works with of things like autism and ADHD, and the pros and cons of this.
Ron explains that whilst he used to be critical of psychiatric diagnosis, having seen the way particular diagnoses have historically been disproportionately applied to black men, he has come to see what he describes as being “anti-diagnosis” as a somewhat privileged position. He describes not wanting to withhold the many benefits a diagnosis can afford people within our current systems of care and support.
Are neurodevelopmental diagnoses simply another narrative available to people in their pursuit of self-understanding? One more option for clinicians to provide alongside, for example, a trauma lens? Or do we have a responsibility as clinicians to think carefully about which narratives we introduce to our clients, and how?
As we wrestle with these diagnostic dilemmas, Ron reminds us about the importance of positionality, and of letting people know where we are coming from and why we take the position we do.
This conversation is a window into how clinicians are grappling with the changing landscape of mental healthcare and the diagnostic dilemmas that come with this.
This conversation has opened up lots of questions for us. What has it raised for you?
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