We are thrilled to launch our clinician support program in 2025. This program aims to provide therapists and other clinicians with mini-grants to support free or sliding scale services to neurodivergent individuals. To supplement our mini-grant, we are offering periodic discussion/reflection groups for clinicians to discuss topics related to neurodiversity-affirming clinical services as well as accessibility and inclusion more generally. More information about our mini-grant can be found below:
What exactly does this program consist of? We are currently in the pilot stage of this program, where participating organizations/therapists will receive $500-750 for a three month period to support free or sliding scale care for a neurodivergent patient/client. At the end of the three month period, we will host an (optional) discussion/reflection meeting where clinicians/therapists can
a.) Share what their experience with the grant was like/any feedback they may have
b.) Discuss topics related to neurodiversity-affirming care as well as cultural humility, class consciousness, LGBTQ+ inclusion, and other areas of inclusion***
c.) Discuss future goals for their practice and practical applications
*** We are by no means claiming to be an expert on every (or any) topic related to inclusivity; rather, we hope the program can be one of mutual learning.
“Neurodivergent” is a very broad term- aren’t most people seeking therapy neurodivergent in some way, given that mental health falls under the umbrella of neurodivergence? We don’t have a rigorous definition of neurodivergent – if someone feels like their way of thinking/communicating/perceiving the world is different from what is typical and that the label of “neurodivergent” describes their experiences, we trust their judgment. In short, our programme is not limited to a specific type of neurodivergence, though our main areas of focus are the following:
Autism
Intellectual Disability
Psychosis
Anyone who has a highly stigmatized and/or inadequately understood form of neurodivergence
The reason for this focus is because people with the above forms of neurodivergence may find it more challenging to access healthcare/therapy that is accessible and inclusive of their communication style, given the relative lack of training related to these conditions as well as the lack of clinicians with these forms of neurodivergence in the field.
We hope that this grant can improve access to care for multiply marginalised neurodivergent individuals. We also hope to support clinicians who are neurodivergent and/or multiply marginalised.
What topics do you have experience in? We have one occupational therapist on our team, an autism researcher, and a physicist-turned-autism-researcher. Most of our trainings so far have been focused on autism and specifically caring for autistic children/understanding autistic communication and play. We also have resources related to autism and intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) and domestic violence as well as therapy harm.
How can I apply? Anyone who is interested can join our discussion/reflection group! For the mini-grant itself, we hope to open up applications for our first (non-pilot) cohort in the spring of 2025.
Unfortunately, as we are a small organisation ourselves without a great deal of funding, we likely will be limited in how many mini-grants we can give out once our applications open. We are hoping to prioritise organisations/clinicians in the Triangle area (North Carolina).
We welcome any feedback about the program overall— if you have any questions, comments, or feedback or if you would like to join the discussion/reflection group; please don’t hesitate to contact us at hello@allneurotypes.com!
Sam Brandsen would also like to acknowledge AKALAKA (Home - AKALAKA) as a partial sponsor/supporter of this program.
