Sensory processing disorder, autism spectrum disorder, attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder—there’s somewhat of a problem with each of these terms. They all derive from a disability point of view. “It’s really processing differences, and we all process differently,” says Danielle Howerton, an occupational therapist at Synaptic Pediatric Therapies, which provides speech and occupational therapy to children and young adults at nine locations throughout Dallas-Fort Worth.
Howerton and her colleagues are among a growing movement that’s shifting from the way of thinking that focuses primarily on deficits. Instead, we should think of the brain like a fingerprint, they say, unique to each individual. A brain that functions differently from what’s considered typical doesn’t need to be “fixed” but rather understood.
In clinical therapeutic settings like Synaptic Pediatric Therapies, it’s called neurodivergent-affirming care. It’s a tenet of their strengths-based intervention, an emerging way to approach therapy that moves beyond the medical model and instead is tailored to the individual child.
The Strengths-Based Approach
Compared to the standard deficits-based approach in speech and occupational therapy, the strengths-based model leverages a child’s differences. It lets go of more rigid, compliance-based strategies and leans into a child’s interests and strengths.
“It’s finding out where a child’s strengths are and capitalizing on that,” explains Michelle Lai, a speech and language pathologist at Synaptic Pediatric Therapies. “So, it’s finding out what motivates a child and how they learn best and modifying the treatment approach to that—individualizing the treatment to that child to make them more successful.”
Instead of focusing solely on research and cookie-cutter treatment for a specific disorder, therapists using a strengths-based approach like to better know the child, their interests and strengths to promote their success. It starts with an initial evaluation that goes beyond standardized assessments.
“I’ll watch them in certain tasks, some being very structured, others being more anecdotal observations—watching them play, interact with peers and how they move about the room and process their environment,” says Howerton.
“And we utilize the tool of the parent interview because parents know them better than anyone. We use our clinical reasoning to work through that interview process to draw out the information that’s going to give us ideas of what they like, what they enjoy, how they typically play. We get that first snapshot into the areas that they’re already succeeding in and the areas that they’re needing more support.”
Then therapists work on forming a relationship to get even greater insight into the child’s individual strengths and needs. This rapport helps them tailor their treatment. “The more you work with them, the more you see these patterns of how they like to learn. Once you start learning that pattern, you can start making more structured activities in the way they think and process information, making it more easily accessible to and understood by them,” says Lai.
Individualizing treatment also means setting up the environment for success. If the therapists learn that the patient is easily distracted in a busy setting, they reduce stimuli to make the appointment more productive.
Family-Centered Therapy
Family involvement is another pillar to treatment in a strengths-based model, starting with fostering a neurodiversity-affirming mindset among caregivers. “Trying to change that narrative for everyone sometimes starts with the parents,” says Lai. “Providing parent and caregiver education is important so that parents are aware of how their child learns best. And if we provide specific, individualized accommodations or supports, their children can be really successful.”
“We want them to see the beauty in what their children do differently.”
From the beginning, families are involved in setting goals for the child’s therapies. “We want to make sure that our goals are oriented to the family’s roles and routines—things that are going to help the child be engaging and successful in their family,” says Howerton. “We’re going to start with the things that are going to impact their life the most in the day-to-day.”
If it’s helpful to the child, families are invited to sit in on sessions. And before and after, therapists meet with caregivers to go over things that are helping the child succeed, always giving ideas and suggestions for strategies they can carry over to use at home.
“We want them to see the beauty in what their children do differently,” says Howerton. “How to use their way of thinking and perceiving the world to build strengths in areas where they have higher support needs.”
Sponsored content for Synaptic Pediatric Therapies.
This sponsored content article was originally published in August 2023.
