Neurodiversity, diagnosis, disability, ability: What’s the best label?
The words ‘diagnosis’ and ‘disability’ can be a heavy burden for children and youth to have to carry. Labels such as this can be stigmatizing. Labels tend to emphasize what a child or adolescent is not able to do, not what the child is capable of doing. That said, both the health care system and the educational system use labels to help organize their thinking about the needs of diverse learners. In this website, we will refer to ‘neurodevelopmental foundations for learning’ as disability-related terms. We will use the term “Essential skills for Learning” as being those skills that need to be supported, practiced, and mastered.
Recently, the term ‘neurodiversity’ has been used to describe the children and youth whom I see in my clinic. The term ‘neurodiversity’ is not as stigmatizing. It’s a nice label to share with non-professionals or unfamiliar adults, especially when you do not wish to share detailed information about why your child’s behaviors might be different or more challenging compared to other children. But even if it’s less pejorative, the term ‘neurodiversity’ is hard to use for treatment or educational planning. The Essential skills website is intended to help here. Even if you do not wish to use standard clinical or educational labels, it’s important to understand why your child is struggling. More important- It’s important to be able to describe what your child is struggling with and how to help them live successfully in their community. that’s why we use the term “Essential skills.”
You choose. Essential Skills makes an attempt to circumvent some of the challenges outlined above, by emphasizing skills and abilities. Having a diagnosis or a disability label can stick with you for life. By focusing on skills and abilities, there’s always the idea that there is room for growth.
You will decide for yourself if the words ‘diagnosis’ or ‘disability’ or ‘diversity’ are mostly helpful to your child, mostly not that helpful, or somewhere in between. What’s most important is the encouragement you bring to your child that they can always strive to be their best selves.
What’s in a label?
Upsides: Precision, deeper understanding, access to services and supports. The labeling system is very imperfect, but has the right intention. The upside of the words ‘diagnosis’ and ‘disability’ is that they have the potential to explain why a child or adolescent is struggling. With a label, it’s possible to think about skills, strategies, and supports that the child or youth might need. When labels build understanding and point us towards strategies that can work, they can bring us all together. They can help us to build communities of support.
Downsides: stigma, confusion. There’s a downside to the words ‘diagnosis’ and ‘disability’ too. Diagnostic labels and the word ‘disability’ are sometimes used too casually. Or, they are used incorrectly. When used too casually, they can diminish the potential of a child who is struggling. The term ‘neurodiversity’ has less stigma attached to it. We might want to use it for this reason. However, the terms ‘neurodiversity’ are not precise or descriptive enough. They not serve the purpose of clarifying and supporting the decisions we have to make for children and youth who are struggling.
Structure of each page
Essential skill Definition and association with Disability Category or with neurodevelopmental foundations
Essential skills: Manifestations of mature / successful development
Essential skills: Manifestations of limited development
Goals, Objectives, and Strategies to help support your child
How do I speak with my child about this Essential Skill?
Deeper Dive - The full Essential skills framework.