XAVERINE M A BATES



NEURODIVERGENCE
Autism & ADHD
I have a particular interest in supporting individuals who are autistic and/or have ADHD, particularly those who may have been identified as neurodivergent later in life. ​Late-diagnosis or identification can often cause trauma and mental health challenges due to your needs having been unmet for many years. Together we can unpick these issues and think about them together to find a way for you to live a more creative and fulfilled life.​
Autism and ADHD are rapidly becoming far more accepted in our society, but stigma still remains in some areas, so we can work through this together and help you feel secure in your identity by finding ways of playing to your strengths.​​ I offer support to help you understand this new sense of identity, unpicking any stigma you may feel, examining internalised ableism and any conflicting feelings that may arise.
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I borrow ideas from the neurodiversity paradigm taking a neuroaffirmative approach, which sees neurodivergence as a difference, rather than a deficit, following the social model of disability. This shows that it is the environment, rather than the person, which can be disabling if the right support is not in place; rather than the medical model, which can feel pathologising and puts too much emphasis on the individual to 'fix' themselves.
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I am passionate about finding ways of thinking creatively about life's challenges that is most helpful to each individual, exploring each aspect of yourself to help you find a way of being that feels truly authentic.