Fostering a neuro-affirming environment

Arlene and Megan are senior speech pathologists in Infant, Child, Youth Mental Health Service (ICYMHS) at Eastern Health.

“A portion of our job is often trying to identify the underlying causes or diagnoses for children, and often that might be autism or ADHD or a developmental language delay.” Megan said.

Having identified the need for neuro-affirming resources for young people, Megan pitched the idea to the CareXperience Tanks in 2025 and the team was awarded with funds to purchase neuro-affirming books for children, adolescents and young people.

CareXperience Tanks is an initiative by the Eastern Health Patient Experience team that offers staff the chance to pitch an idea that can help create a positive patient experience. It has been funded through generous donations to the Eastern Health Foundation.

“The fact that some of the books are written by adults who are also neurodivergent and have gone through these experiences, is affirming to our young people.” Arlene said.

The books have been spread across five different ICHYMS sites and used as a tool during sessions to explain concepts around neuro diversity in a welcoming and age-appropriate way.

Some of the books can also be found in waiting areas.

“We’ve had feedback from a family that said the assessment sessions for their young person were more enjoyable than they expected. I think having these kinds of resources is a big part of that.” Arlene said.