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Community voice, Think Autism Melbourne 2026
An audience member asked for a tick of approval for neuroaffirming practices
In short
At Think Autism Melbourne, a late diagnosed woman proposed that practices should have to prove they are neuroaffirming. An autistic counsellor then said counselling had no such requirement at all.
Read it instead, 5 minutesThe transcript
The story
Anyone can put the word neuroaffirming on a website, and an audience member at Think Autism Melbourne wanted that to stop being enough. Speaking in the question time after the panel on neuroaffirming practice, she proposed that “we should have a framework where you have like a tick of approval”, so that a practice claiming the label would have to prove it.
She introduced herself as a woman diagnosed with ADHD late in life, and said many women were still undiagnosed. Her complaint was about the wellbeing sector, including psychology. Many practices, she said, are not neurodiversity friendly, but they keep clients in their care for a long time instead of moving them on and connecting them with services that are. A tick of approval would mean practices could not simply say they specialise in the area when they do not. They would have to show that they met basic criteria.
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Sources the story draws on
- Psychologists to maintain high standards under new requirements (opens in a new tab), Psychology Board of Australia
- Professional competencies for psychologists released (opens in a new tab), Psychology Board of Australia
- PsyBA competency updates: now is the time to enhance your neurodiversity-affirming practice (opens in a new tab), Australian Psychological Society
- National standards for counsellors and psychotherapists: Summary report (opens in a new tab), Australian Government Department of Health (prepared with Allen + Clarke Consulting)
More from Think Autism Melbourne 2026
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