Increasing multidisciplinary professionals' capacity to support neurodiverse families

Abstract

Persistent stigma surrounding neurodivergent people still exists. This article advocates for changes to societal systems to improve the well-being of neurodivergent individuals and families, beginning with widespread awareness and support. Our suggested approach to improve societal infrastructure includes large-scale online educational training of multidisciplinary professionals who operate within these systems to increase understanding, awareness, support, and accommodations for neurodivergent people. Multidisciplinary professionals who have received neurodiversity training can advocate for their respective systems to improve services for neurodivergent clients. We describe the 2023 development of Florida State University's (FSU) new online Professional Certification in the Fundamentals of Neurodiversity. The asynchronous psychoeducational training provides continuing education credit to a wide range of professionals. The framework for this training and curriculum content are described. Such training, along with a set of accompanying open-access resources, can be replicated by institutions in many languages and cultures to improve professionals' knowledge and skills across the globe.