Your child’s safety is of the upmost important to us. Our Safeguarding Policy is comprehensive & is available for viewing. We post a summary on our website. Please view this in conjunction with our Safer Recruitment Policy.

A little note on language initially:

~’Pathologise’: Considered medically / psychologically abnormal. When autism is pathologised it leads to inappropriate & harmful interventions, treatments & the search for cure. This is because there is an assumption that there is an ideal, normal neurocognitive style of being & any deviation from this is inherently wrong (Chapman, 2021; Walker, 2021).

~’Neurodiversity’: There is infinite variation in human minds – this is just biological fact (Walker, 2021).

~’Neurodiverse’: We are ‘neurodiverse’ as a society due to our collective differences.  

~’Neurodivergent’: A value-neutral term for an individual who differs from what is considered ‘typical’ in society. Coined by Kassiane Asasumasu (2000).

~’Neurodiversity paradigm’: A set of beliefs within which the notion of an ideal neurocognitive style of being is rejected & instead neurodiversity & neurodivergence is normalised & valued (Walker, 2021). 

~’Neurodiversity lite’: Neurodiversity is trivialised, performative & there is little or no understanding of neurodiversity concepts (den Houting, 2019; Neumeier, 2018; Roberts, 2021) . Crucially the underlying default pathologising of neurodivergent minds remains unchallenged, stereotypes are perpetuated & ableism remains (Chapman, 2021). Ultimately, the belief that there is something ‘wrong’ that needs fixing is still there, even if hiding from plain sight. 

GROVE’S approach: We subscribe to the neurodiversity paradigm. We celebrate the value of all neurotypes, we challenge the pathologising of neurodivergent minds, we aim to dismantle ablism & challenge bias (including our own). We are therefore ‘neurodiversity aligned’, neurodiversity affirming & neurodivergent affirming (shortened ‘neuro-affirming’).

With regards to autism specifically – we reject the pathologising, deficit-based framing & instead celebrate our differences notwithstanding the challenges we may experience. We believe that autism is a natural & valuable form of human variation. This does not ignore the challenges that Autistic people experience.

In essence, we will not try to change or fix your child! We practice unconditional acceptance of who they are.

We also continue to reflect upon our practice as there will always be things we can learn & can do better. 

REFERENCES:

• Chapman, R. (2021c). Negotiating the Neurodiversity Concept Towards epistemic justice in conceptualising health. Psychology Today. https://www.psychologytoday.com/gb/blog/neurodiverse-age/202108/negotiating-the-neurodiversity-concept
• den Houting, J. (2019). Neurodiversity: An insider’s perspective. Autism, 23(2), 271-273. https://doi.org/10.1177/1362361318820762
• Walker, N. (2021). Neuroqueer Heresies. Autonomous Press.
• Neumeier, S. (2018) “To Siri With Love’ and the Problem With Neurodiversity Lite”. Rewire News Group. https://rewirenewsgroup.com/article/2018/02/09/siri-love-problem-neurodiversity-lite/

Yes. We are very happy to discuss accommodating your child’s preference & needs with regard communication style & cameras & we understand working online does not suit everyone.

Yes! Absolutely. We will discuss with you how best to support your child’s needs & preferences. 

We believe there are important skills all children & young people benefit from learning, irrespective of their neurotype. Skills such as: self-advocacy, boundaries, consent, self-respect, self-understanding.  Additionally gaining understanding of different communication styles, social interaction & the Double Empathy Problem is also important for all. We do not encourage our children & young people to use what are regarded as neurotypical ‘social skills’ that may suppress their authentic Autistic nature. Guided by your child, we may seek to understand neurotypical social skills & how Autistic socialisation, interaction & communication may differ, but teaching the use of these may encourage masking & that can have a hugely detrimental impact on mental health.

In line with this GROVE does not support the use of ABA (Applied Behaviour Analysis), PBS (Positive Behaviour Support) or PBIS (Positive Behaviourial Intervention & Supports). We do however, acknowledge the position of privilege from which we are able to take this stance & understand that for far too many Autistic people supressing Autistic authenticity is necessary for safety & thus there is nuance needed with any discussion of this nature. We will work hard to be part of the movement to dismantle racist & ableist systems that lead to interventions such as these & necessitate masking for safety.