Neuroaffirming behaviours can be developed

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I am aware that we need to tackle the systemic issues to increase accessibility for neurodivergent individuals in the workplace and foster neuroinclusion. These are a vital aspect of ensuring that workplaces are welcoming rather than hostile to neurodivergent people. However, to effectively tackle workplace inequities requires individuals who have what Hannah Breslin refers to as a neuroaffirming philosophy and mindset.

Leaders, in particular, have a responsibility to demonstrate neuroaffirming behaviours. By setting the tone for their teams, they influence the organisational culture – the unwritten rules of what is expected, the stories and myths that they tell, what they recognise and reward, and so on. When leaders act as role models in generating neuroinclusion, their team members will realise that neuroinclusion is valued in the organisation and will begin to embrace neuroaffirming behaviours.

In addition to being a philosophy and mindset, I believe that neuroaffirming behaviours are acquired in the same way that we acquire other skills. The stages for competency acquisition are:

1.        Identifying the skill and determining our level of proficiency

2.         Learning about the skill so that we can recognise it when we see it

3.         Practising the behaviours and applying them to new and different situations

4.         Seeking and receiving feedback and adjusting our approach

5.         Gaining Mastery

Alongside these steps there is a psychological component to acquiring a new skill:

• Unconscious incompetence – we are unaware that we do not possess the skill.

• Conscious incompetence – we are aware of the skill and that we are not performing it to a good standard.

• Conscious competence – we have a good level of the skill, which requires intentional effort.

• ·Unconscious competence – we have achieved mastery in the skill and do not need to think about doing it.

I have been developing my neuroaffirming behaviours since I discovered that what I thought of as my superpower, creating safe spaces for others, was not effective in all situations. Because neurodivergent people mask their true identities to fit in with what is commonly believed to be the right (neurotypical) way to be, their discomfort with situations due to their differences in wiring, sensing and processing the world, are kept mostly hidden. Receiving feedback that I was not accommodating the needs of some neurodivergent individuals meant that I quickly moved into the state unconscious incompetence of being neuroaffirming. Since then, I have been learning about the facets of neurodivergence and how I can inadvertently negatively impact a neurodivergent person despite my good intentions. So, I am now acutely aware of how my beliefs, assumptions, thinking and behaviours fall short in being neuroaffirming. For example, assuming that someone is wilfully choosing not to do something that I request of them to at the time that I ask. I have learned that there can be many causes for this such as, demand avoidance, difficulty with transitioning between tasks (see hereand here), and more.

I am fortunate because I have been given chances to learn what makes behaviours neuroaffirming and to see them in action by working with and supporting neurodivergent individuals and colleagues. They have been willing to share their knowledge and experiences with me.  In terms of the competency acquisition process, I am moving between steps 3 and 4, practising the behaviours and acting on feedback to refine my approach. I find that writing about my experiences also helps me to process and reflect on what I am learning.

Imagine multiplying my competency acquisition process across an organisation. If all leaders were required to acquire neuroaffirming behaviours, that would have a ripple effect throughout the organisation, changing the culture and systems to be more neuroinclusive.

My invitation to you is to:

1. Educate yourself on what neuroaffirming behaviours look like in different contexts – as a leader, team member, executive, coach, facilitator, chairperson and so on.

2. Assess your standing regarding neuroaffirming behaviours.

3. Start small by identifying one area in which you want to try to implement neuroaffirming behaviours e.g. how you arrange and run team meetings

4. Get feedback from your team (some of whom will likely be neurodivergent) on the changes that you make and refine accordingly.

5. Once you have mastered this area, choose another and repeat the process so that over time you broaden the impact of your neuroaffirming behaviours.

 I hope that you will join me in developing your neuroaffirming behaviours and generating neuroinclusive environments.

©2026 by Joan van den Brink is licensed under https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/