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This Clear Language Lab webinar took place on December 16, 2021. Check out the notes below or access the webinar recording.
“Dominator culture has tried to keep us all afraid, to make us choose safety instead of risk, sameness instead of diversity. Moving through that fear, finding out what connects us, reveling in our differences; this is the process that brings us closer, that gives us a world of shared values, of meaningful community.”
Bell Hooks, Teaching Community: A Pedagogy of Hope
Key Points:
What is neurodiversity:
Coined by an autistic person, Judy Singer
Came out of ideas around biodiversity (diversity, including how our brains work, is part of nature!)
Created as a political term to expand concept of intersectionality to address equity issues and find language around the work of the Autistic Self-Advocacy Movement
What do we mean by neurodiversity? There are two ways this gets talked about a lot:
General: Everybody is different!
Brain differences seen as a deficit: Autism, ADHD, Dysgraphia, etc…
More definitions:
Neurodivergent: the concept of describing people who identify as having cognitive traits outside the norm
Neurotypical: the concept of describing people who perceive and interact with the world in a socially acceptable way
Masking: ways that people may "mask" their traits to appear to be neurotypical
Executive Function Skills: the brain's management system, affecting memory, emotional reactions, organization, following directions, and more
What barriers get in the way of people navigating systems effectively?
Systematic barriers:
Difficulties in accessing healthcare
Bias in healthcare
Societies models for walking about disabilities and differences
Comorbidities + masking
It's complicated to simplify:
This is a different way of thinking about things and will take time
Concerns about ableism and toxic positivity (ND is my superpower!)
No one size fits all ways people experience the world — people are complex!
For some people, having a formal diagnosis can be empowering and provide them important protections
Many people might cross our paths that don't have a formal diagnosis or think something is "wrong" with them
Using a neurodiversity lens in documents:
Use a more intuitive layout so that people can find key information easier
Be more consistent with fonts and colors to avoid overwhelming people (it doesn't have to be boring or basic either)
Strengthen visual hierarchy so that what is important is clear
Use images or designs that support the text
Action steps:
Consider a universal design lens
Listen to people with lived experience
Keep learning
Use plain language!
Resources:
General plain language
Neurodiversity
Interested in learning more about professional development at Clear Language Lab? Check out other past webinars, find upcoming events on our training page, or contact Sarah Glazer, Sr. Program Manager, at sarah@litworks.org to learn more about our offerings.
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