The importance of neurodivergent mentorship for the development of professional identity

Authors

  • Bill Wong Department of Occupational Therapy, Stanbridge University, CA, USA.
  • Greg Boheler B3 Coffee, USA.
  • Sarah Selvaggi Hernandez Occupational Therapist the Autistic OT.
  • Katherine McGinley Pathfinder Services, Indiana, USA.
  • An Thi Nguyen Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
  • Romina Lynn Reyes Los Angeles Intensive Pediatric Therapy, USA.
  • Zipporah Brown School of Occupational Therapy, Western University of Health Sciences, CA, USA.

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.31117/neuroscirn.v6i1.167

Keywords:

Neurodiversity, neurodivergent, justice, autism/autistic, mentorship, post-secondary education

Abstract

Neurodivergent students are often under-supported in their pursuit of post-secondary education, which can negatively impact engagement and academic outcomes. There is limited research examining the potential of neurodivergent mentorship models within post-secondary education. This opinion piece presents two case studies based on the real-world experiences of neurodivergent mentors and mentees to explore the proposed benefits of neurodivergent mentorship in occupational therapy education. The experiences of neurodivergent mentors and mentees can be used to promote access, equity, inclusivity and justice within healthcare professions.

References

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Rushton, T. (2018). Exploring the lived experience of being an occupational therapy student with additional support requirements. [Unpublished doctoral thesis]. University of Derby, UK. https://derby.openrepository.com/handle/10545/622927.

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Velde B. P., Chapin, M. H., & Wittman, P. P. (2005). Working around "it": The experience of occupational therapy students with a disability. Journal of Allied Health, 34(2), 83-89, https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/16032914/

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Published

2023-03-15

How to Cite

Wong, B., Boheler, G., Selvaggi Hernandez, S., McGinley, K., Nguyen, A. T., Reyes, R. L., & Brown, Z. (2023). The importance of neurodivergent mentorship for the development of professional identity. Neuroscience Research Notes, 6(1), 167. https://doi.org/10.31117/neuroscirn.v6i1.167

Issue

Vol. 6 No. 1 (2023): Regular Issue

Section

News and Views

Categories

License

Copyright (c) 2023 Bill Wong, Greg Boheler, Sarah Selvaggi Hernandez, Katherine McGinley, An Thi Nguyen, Romina Lynn Reyes, Zipporah Brown

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.

The observations and associated materials published or posted by NeurosciRN are licensed by the authors for use and distribution in accord with the Creative Commons Attribution license CC BY-NC 4.0 international, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.