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Workshop: How can we embrace complexity in neurodivergence and mental health amongst children and young people?
Led by: Georgia Harper, Suzi Sapiets, Laurene Fontan, Giorgia Michelini, Kate Higney, Elizabeth Corcoran, Saffron Baldoza, and Felicity Sedgewick from the Embracing Complexity: Neurodevelopmental Conditions & Mental Health Special Interest Research Group
In this hybrid workshop, the panel (researchers and experts by experience) and attendees considered how to embrace complexity across overlapping neurodivergence and mental health, including how to improve ways to identify and support the needs of neurodivergent children and young people experiencing poor mental health.
Three key messages:
- A large proportion of those experiencing mental health challenges are neurodivergent
- Mental ill-health may not look how you expect in neurodivergent people
- Don’t make assumptions – “normal” is different for everyone.
This workshop was connected to our Embracing Complexity research challenge: How can we best meet the needs of children and young people who have intersecting needs and face complex situations?
Research Reflections Interview
Georgia and Suzi joined us before the Summit to explain their plans for the workshop and some of the key messages they wanted to discuss. You can watch the video below.
Further Resources
Check out these pictures from the day!
Photos from Oxford Atelier and artwork by Tom Bailey (@tombaileyart).
Workshop Live Tweets
You can read a great thread below from Mark who live-tweeted the workshop via @Mental_Elf.
Hello! @markoneinfour here live tweeting from #emergingminds for Mental Elf. Our next session is "How can we embrace complexity in neurodivergence and mental health amongst children and young people?" It runs until 11.00UK time. For background https://t.co/05tfG89LrO
— The Mental Elf (@Mental_Elf) October 17, 2022
And we're off! Georgia Harper is introducing our panel discussion, also featuring Saffron Baldoza, Dr Liz Corcoran, Laurene Fontan, Kate Higney, Dr Giorgia Michelini, Dr Suzi Sapiets. We're being shown a video of a young person at home, talking about their life #emergingminds
— The Mental Elf (@Mental_Elf) October 17, 2022
The slogan 'Conversations, not assumptions' appears on screen. A panel member explains that 10-15% have one or more neurodevelopmental condition. Neurodiversity describes the way we all have different brains, it's about differences not deficits. #emergingminds
— The Mental Elf (@Mental_Elf) October 17, 2022
The difficulties experienced by neurodivergent people reside in society, not he individual. Neurodiversity embraces complexity. There is a crossover between mental health conditions and neurodiversity. explains Saffron Baldoza, for example ADHD and autism spectrum #emergingminds
— The Mental Elf (@Mental_Elf) October 17, 2022
Baldoza makes the point that comorbidity needs more research within neurodiversity, is often under understood. #emergingminds
— The Mental Elf (@Mental_Elf) October 17, 2022
Giorgia Michelini says a lot of the research around mental health and neurodivergence has not been into causal relationships. Very little has be qualitative, to understand how people's lives are #emergingminds
— The Mental Elf (@Mental_Elf) October 17, 2022
Kate Higney is now talking about being a parent of a neurodivergent child: getting a diagnosis for my child felt like falling into a void. There was little support. It's hard seeing your kids in extreme distress, is stressful #emergingminds
— The Mental Elf (@Mental_Elf) October 17, 2022
Higney: stress builds up, a major mental health challenge. Says that assumptions, no matter how well meaning, can bring stress. Says people assumed her child could understand verbal questions, where he couldn't. That's hard to communicate to others #emergingminds
— The Mental Elf (@Mental_Elf) October 17, 2022
Higney: distress is a sign things need to be different. It's often assumed that distress is part of the diagnosis, but it's not. Distress should be taken seriously. I had to adapt to my child, which involved changing my world and theirs. They needed space and time #emergingminds
— The Mental Elf (@Mental_Elf) October 17, 2022
Higney: mental health support needs to wrap around neurodivergent people. #emergingminds
— The Mental Elf (@Mental_Elf) October 17, 2022
We're now hearing about diagnostic overshadowing: when a primary diagnostic label blinds clinicians to the other needs some has, says Liz Corcoran. Children with Downs Syndrome are often ignored when it comes to other health problems. It's a huge problem #emergingminds
— The Mental Elf (@Mental_Elf) October 17, 2022
Corcoran: if anyone says to you 'it's normal for your neurodivergent child to experience 'X', ask what they would do if your child didn't have a neurodevelopmental diagnosis. #emergingminds
— The Mental Elf (@Mental_Elf) October 17, 2022
We're now hearing about masking, where neurodivergent people cover up their own behaviours in hope of fitting it. A panel member suggests that the best thing to do is to ask people after an event how they feel #emergingminds
— The Mental Elf (@Mental_Elf) October 17, 2022
Suzy Sapiets says that neurodivergent people are often excluded from mental health studies, often experience comorbid conditions. Social end economic conditions exclude neurodivergent people and their families. there's little accessible support around #emergingminds
— The Mental Elf (@Mental_Elf) October 17, 2022
Sapiets: mental health services are stressed. There's a postcode lottery. There's sometimes a low level of understanding of neurodivergence, and there's often a revolving door of untailored interventions. #emergingminds
— The Mental Elf (@Mental_Elf) October 17, 2022
Baldoza: good mental health support for neurodivergence requires understanding neurodiversity. 'I was misdiagnosed. Was treated for one mental health condition, when my needs related to my neurodiversity, not mental ill-health.' #EmergingMinds
— The Mental Elf (@Mental_Elf) October 17, 2022
Corcoran: good mental health is about knowing what feels good to us in the world, where the frictions are removed in way of thriving. We need to teach this and implement in education. #emergingminds
— The Mental Elf (@Mental_Elf) October 17, 2022
When asked what one bit of advice to professionals around neurodiversity panel answers include: see the needs of people through the lens of neurodiversity; check with them and those who know them well; be open to learning and changing… #emergingminds
— The Mental Elf (@Mental_Elf) October 17, 2022
A panel member says that there is diversity in what people want around neurodiversity and mental health. Someone might not want their neurodivergence treated, but might want mental health support. Another says 'not all information is verbal'#emergingmind
— The Mental Elf (@Mental_Elf) October 17, 2022
Another panel member says: You need to know what is normal for an individual. It's what changes for them, that's where you would see whether they were having challenges with mental health. Another says: see the unique child, what's their history, what's their now #EmergingMinds
— The Mental Elf (@Mental_Elf) October 17, 2022
We’re now taking questions from floor and from online. Someone asks about distress and stress and what we might do about it. Harper says it’s about knowing what someone finds distressing. Sapiets says there’s not much research on distress, more on reducing stress #emergingminds
— The Mental Elf (@Mental_Elf) October 17, 2022
r-tweet” data-conversation=”none”><p lang=”en” dir=”ltr”>We're now taking questions from floor and from online. Someone asks about distress and stress and what we might do about it. Harper says it's about knowing what someone finds distressing. Sapiets says there's not much research on distress, more on reducing stress <a href=”https://twitter.com/hashtag/emergingminds?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>#emergingminds</a></p>— The Mental Elf (@Mental_Elf) <a href=”https://twitter.com/Mental_Elf/status/1581946939343413248?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>October 17, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src=”https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js” charset=”utf-8″></script>
Sapiets suggests that there is sometimes a lot of trauma involved in being neurodivergent, living in distressing conditions #emergingminds
— The Mental Elf (@Mental_Elf) October 17, 2022
Harper asks the panel 'what advice would you give children and parents'.
— The Mental Elf (@Mental_Elf) October 17, 2022
Suggestions: get in touch with charities; become your own greatest advocate; avoid low expectations; what works for one person might not for others; 'find your tribe' of people like you #EmergingMinds
Another panel member says: hold your labels lightly. They may help to navigate the world, but they aren't everything. #emergingminds
— The Mental Elf (@Mental_Elf) October 17, 2022
This a blog from Elizabeth Corcoran on diagnostic overshadowing, a useful concept but a devastating problem https://t.co/TaPE0ir3Xw #emergingminds
— The Mental Elf (@Mental_Elf) October 17, 2022
This is a great zoom recording of a webinar about how mental ill-health can present differently in neurodivergent young people, presented by Researchers and experts by experience: "Conversations not assumptions" https://t.co/v3pCjrzJCQ #emergingminds
— The Mental Elf (@Mental_Elf) October 17, 2022
And finally, as our session wraps up on embracing complexity in neurodivergence and mental health amongst children and young people, here's the video that opened our session https://t.co/kbmBnF2cdm #emergingminds
— The Mental Elf (@Mental_Elf) October 17, 2022