For our final episode of the season we welcome Sonny Jane Wise to the podcast, to share their wisdom on all things neurodivergence. This is a fabulous ep to start with if you’re new to the neurodiversity affirming model, and also if you’ve been here a while!

Sonny Jane is a trans, multiply neurodivergent & disabled public speaker, advocate and author. Sonny was diagnosed with Autism and ADHD as a child and grew up only hearing a deficit narrative about their neurodivergence. Since then, they have gone on to build an audience of over 100, 000 people online, have written The Neurodivergent Friendly Workbook of DBT Skills and We’re All Neurodiverse and has worked with organisations and services around Australia and the world to help change the narrative around neurodivergence and create a more neurodiversity affirming society.

In this episode we cover:

Key definitions of neurodiversity affirming practice, including the difference between ‘neurodiverse’ and ‘neurodivergence’ and between the pathologising / medical model of practice and the neurodiversity affirming model.
Sonny Jane’s experience of being early diagnosed under a pathologising model and the lifechanging impact of discovering neurokin and the neurodiversity affirming community.
Disability and ableism and neuronormativity (oh my!)
The intersectional impact of different aspects of Sonny Jane’s identity, their neurodivergences, and their disabilities, and how this intersectionality impacts their access to services.
The future of neurodiversity affirming practice.

You can find out more about Sonny Jane and access their content through their website.

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Episode 52: TEFCA Table Talk Part 1: Stakeholder Panel with Hans Buitendijk (Cerner), Tim Pletcher (MiHIN) and Danielle Lloyd (AHIP)