The use of objects as an aid for communication with neurodivergent brains.

Communication for neurodivergent people can be challenging.

How do I feel? I know how others are feeling, often intensely, but it is harder to tune into our own personal experiences and even more difficult to express them.

I often work with ND clients and help bridge this gap. 

Often this is the space where overwhelm happens. 

Outward signs of distress, which can be alarming to close ones and confusing to the client themselves.

It can be helpful to be aware and give permission to other forms of communication when words feel too hard to access.

How using an object can break down some communication barriers:

• Find an object that you feel comfortable using as a communication tool. It helps if the object is easily recognisable.

• Find a home for it, where it is visible to you and those close to you.

• Agree with your partner, family, friends that when you are finding it hard to communicate that you aren’t OK, you will move that object to a clear and different place where they will see it.

• Agree together what you would then like them to do or say.

• Be curious about how this might help and what you might learn.

We are all different and finding different ways to communicate can be validating and freeing.

I am curious if you have developed ways to share your experiences that are an alternative to words?

#autism #adhd #neurodivergence #communication