Let's stop pathologizing...

Strength…seeing that versus the deficit, weakness, or failure can be the difference between possibility and feeling stuck. If we don’t understand a behavior, whether that be in ourself or others, we can move to judgment and pathologizing. A good example is the often misunderstood info dump that can happen as an autistic person. For an autistic person, it can be a means of connection, deep vulnerability in sharing a special interest or part of who they are, and even at times an ‘I love you’ rather than missed social cues.

The strengths we have and what we see is often a result of neurobiology, what comes as an inherent skill to us, and what feels like the norm. It is an important reminder that neurodivergence is a variation in biology, not something to pathologize or a disease to be cured or treated. This means that it is lifelong, not an acquisition based on life circumstances or like other mental health conditions, such as anxiety or depression. Though these can coincide, a neuro-affirming perspective would view autism and other forms of neurodivergence without a deficit-bias and with a strengths-focused approach.

When we are strength-focused, we see skills and focus on capability, something deeply necessary and valuable to seeing each other as humans through a lens of acceptance and kindness. Bottom line…when we work from a strengths perspective, things become possible…and possibility is a world that we can’t live without.