Blogs

The beginning and end of the day are commonly stressful times in the daily life of a family with children or teenagers. In the morning, caregivers often feel the pressure to get ready and arrive at work on time, get their children ready and to school or on the bus on time, feed everyone, ensure that hygiene is taken care of, and that homework makes it to school, among many other logistical demands.

Many kids and teens are becoming familiar with the idea of neurodiversity and neurodivergence through media and conversations with peers. Whether they are identifying with it themselves, or if they are curious about what they have heard others say, knowing how to talk about it can be really useful.

It is believed that the formal origin of the term neurodiversity stems from the work of sociologist Judy Singer. The term was officially included in the Merriam-Webster dictionary in 2002, and the Oxford English dictionary in 2019. However, the term was based on concepts from the 1990’s autistic rights movement, which supports that there are many natural variations in the human brain, and autism is one of them. In this context, using the term neurodiversity aimed to move away from viewing brain differences seen in autism solely in terms of pathology and deficits, but instead, recognizing them as natural human variations.

Awareness of mental health considerations for children and teens who are diagnosed with chronic conditions is important for caregivers. But when you notice that your child may be struggling, where do you start?

Children and teens who live with chronic physical health conditions are understood to be at greater risk for mental health issues than their peers without chronic illness. Whether the child was diagnosed with a physical health condition at birth, or if the diagnosis was acquired later in life, the ongoing experience of illness or difficulty with health can be a stressor on the child.