Individuals with neurodevelopmental disabilities are at an increased risk of experiencing trauma, including chronic child maltreatment, peer violence, disability-related abuse, and medical trauma. This trauma can be exacerbated by disability-specific stressors and unique ways of perceiving the world, including cognitive and sensory processing differences. Accordingly, these individuals are at an increased risk of posttraumatic stress and dissociation, and they may have unique assessment and treatment needs. The Neurodiversity and Dissociation Special Interest Group (NDD SIG) was formed in 2023 to create a space for education, discussion, and training to help clinicians understand the unique needs and challenges present for traumatized and dissociative individuals who have neurodevelopmental disabilities.
The NDD SIG has 82 members with a wide range of professional, personal, and familial experiences. In addition to presenting a workshop and hosting a SIG meeting at the ISSTD Annual Conference in Louisville, members previously posted a Clinical Reflection in the ISSTD newsletter about “Co-occurring Autism and Trauma, Posttraumatic Stress, and Dissociation.” In the SIG forum, we’ve discussed clinical considerations such as modifying screening and assessment tools; the benefits and concerns of informing a client if they show signs that may warrant an autism assessment; how autism can be linked to parental misattunement and medical trauma; and how autistic rule-following can impact treatment. The SIG has also provided space for some of us to connect privately about personal or family experiences with autism.
In the future, the NDD SIG plans to have more in-depth and structured discussions. We also intend to branch out more beyond autism to disabilities such as ADHD, intellectual disability, and tic disorders.
The NDD SIG will also be changing its name, although keeping the acronym! The SIG has always been intended to focus on neurodevelopmental disabilities, but ‘neurodiversity’ is a very broad term that can also be used to include any mental illness or even giftedness. This could be unclear or confusing for people who aren’t already familiar with the SIG. Members were surveyed about changing the SIG name to ‘Neurodevelopmental Disabilities SIG,’ and the majority of respondents supported or were neutral about the change. We discussed concerns that ‘disability’ has negative connotations, the meaning of ‘disability’ as opposed to ‘disorder,’ and if ‘difference’ might be a better term. Ultimately, SIG members concluded that we want to avoid anything that might seem like a euphemism or might be seen as downplaying or erasing impairment. Disability is a fact of life, and one major goal of disability activism is removing stigma associated with acknowledging disability. This benefits not just individuals who currently live with disabilities, but everyone; after all, people with disabilities make up the only minority group that anyone can join at any time! It’s important to recognize both disability and the inherent worth, dignity, and abilities of people with disabilities.
Additionally, while some individuals with neurodevelopmental disabilities do not personally feel disabled, we wanted to acknowledge that we all live in societies in which discrimination, stigma, ignorance, and lack of consideration compound on inborn differences and impairments. For example, tics – sudden unintentional movements or vocalizations – usually do not inherently cause disability, but they can make full participation in society difficult if others react to tics with rejection, bullying, or abuse. Similarly, someone with ADHD might be able to focus fine during class or work meetings if they’re allowed to simultaneously fidget with a spinner ring, but their school or workplace might not allow this. This same principle applies to those who proudly embrace their status as a disabled person. For example, someone with autism might consider themself disabled because of severe sensory sensitivities, and their disability might have a more negative impact on them if others refuse to accommodate their sensory needs or even deliberately trigger sensory overwhelm. This is known as the social model of disability, and it’s something that we hope to bring more awareness to.
If you would like to join the NDD SIG, please email Barbara Shaya at bshaya@oakland.edu. We hope to hear from you soon!