Episode 30: Rewriting Neurodivergent Narratives: Navigating Labels, Trust, and Healing through Somatic Work [featuring Sandra Coral]
Divergent Conversations
Creating Cultures that Embrace Complexity
Exploring the importance of holding space for complexity in conversations, advocating for marginalized voices in the artistic community, and understanding privilege and oppression.
Labels can have a profound impact in the way neurodivergent individuals are perceived by others and themselves. Labels both originate from and shape narratives that can shift the trajectory of how life is experienced.
In this episode, Patrick Casale and Dr. Megan Anna Neff, two AuDHD mental health professionals, talk with Sandra Coral, somatic therapist, founder of Neurodivergent Narratives, author, and podcast host, about the impact and source of labels, the use of somatic therapy, and the treatment of individuals from children to adults who have and don’t have the label of ADHD in relation to race, gender, sexuality, etc.
Top 3 reasons to listen to the entire episode:
- Understand the need to acknowledge and embrace the complexity of individuals' experiences, challenging narrow storylines that do not reflect their true experiences and promoting empowerment through personal narrative exploration.
- Learn about the significance of somatic work for understanding and meeting the needs of neurodivergent individuals including establishing safety and trust, and co-creating a language for accessing the body in therapeutic processes.
- Identify the impact of societal markers and the teacher's own background on how children's behaviors are interpreted in educational settings for the most marginalized within the neurodivergent community.
The stories we tell ourselves shape our experiences with the world, so pay attention to your stories and ask yourself where they come from—did they come from you or someone else—then trust yourself to be the expert in your own life.
Sandra's Information and Resources:
Sandra (she/they) is the education consultant, narrative therapy practitioner, and somatic attachment coach behind Neurodivergent Narratives, a space for supporting neurodivergent people through therapeutic support, educational consulting, and online advocacy.
They are a Black, trans-racial adoptee, parent, queer, femme with late-in-life neurodivergent diagnoses, who share their experiences navigating this society. Their first book aimed at those supporting neurodivergent children called, "It's Never Just ADHD, Finding the Child Behind the Label" is to be published in early 2024 by Sage Publishing House.
Order links are available here:
- UK: https://uk.sagepub.com/en-gb/eur/it%E2%80%99s-never-just-adhd/book279617
- US: https://www.sagepub.com/en-us/cab/it%E2%80%99s-never-just-adhd/book279617
More Resources from Sandra:
- Podcast Host of Neurodivergent Narratives https://neurodivergentnarrativespodcast.buzzsprout.com
- Substack: https://ndnarratives.substack.com
- @nd.narratives on Instagram
- Linktree: https://linktr.ee/ndnarratives
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Mentioned in this episode:
The Autistic Burnout Workbook
I'm Dr. Megan Anna Neff, owner of Neurodivergent Insights, and I'm excited to announce the release of my book, The Autistic Burnout Workbook. I'm running a special deal for those who support my work. After you order, you will get a coupon code that you can use toward our store for the same amount. For example, the workbook costs $18.99, so after purchase, you'd get a credit of $18.99 to use in our digital shop or in our Etsy shop, which gets you another digital workbook of your choosing for free. This is technically a pre-order promotion that was originally set to end on March 10th, but for listeners of the podcast, I'm going to extend this deal, so if you buy the book in the next month, you can also redeem this special. Thank you for supporting my work. It means so much to me and I hope that you will find this a helpful resource for you as you continue to build a life that is a bit more resilient to autistic burnout. Use the following link to grab this offer: https://neurodivergentinsights.notion.site/17ea17a4bb8b8034ab2bf9b03c560a64 After this deal ends, you can use this link to purchase this workbook: https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/The-Autistic-Burnout-Workbook/Megan-Anna-Neff/9781507223062
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