Mycelial Mind: NeuroKin Connections: a NeuroHub Community Podcast
“Neuroaffirming” has become one of the most-used words in disability and mental health spaces; but what does it actually mean, and is it enough? In this episode, host David Gray-Hammond is joined by Adele Murray, with NeuroHub community member Holly dropping in throughout, to dig into the substance behind the buzzword.
The conversation opens with a roundup of what’s happening at NeuroHub: the online community is approaching 400 members, the Professional Gateway subscription has just launched, and the 2nd Annual Autistic Mental Health Conference is now under two months away.
From there, the trio works through three central questions. What do we actually mean when we say neuroaffirming, and does it mean the same thing to everyone? Can neuroaffirming practice be done badly, including by organisations that use the term as a marketing buzzword without backing it up? And finally, is there something beyond neuroaffirming we should be striving for; leading David to introduce the idea of neurodivergent competence, building on Tanya Adkin’s work on monotropic split and the monotropic spiral, and to ask what genuine competence in supporting neurodivergent people would actually require.
Along the way the discussion touches on where affirmation meets ethical complexity, who gets to claim authority on neurodivergent experience, and why genuine dialogue and listening matter more than credentials.
The episode closes with details of NeuroHub’s online Stim & Glimmer Party for Autistic Pride, and a final round of “glimmers”; the small things bringing everyone joy that week.
