Neurodiversity Affirming Dietetic Care

There is increasing awareness of the importance of neurodiversity affirming care and practice across all health and support sectors, including nutrition and dietetics. Stepping into this space demands that dietitians bravely challenge the dominance of neuronormative evidence-based nutrition practice to facilitate the transition from traditional dietetic practice to authentic neurodiversity affirming care.

In these presentations, our speakers will:

• Articulate the foundations of neurodiversity affirming dietetic care and the role it plays in upholding client dignity.
• Explore neuronormative dietetic assumptions and practices and articulate the risk these pose to the holistic wellbeing of neurodivergent individuals and the impact they have on the effectiveness of dietetic care.
• Identify examples from the peer-reviewed and lived experience evidence that justify stepping away from ‘gold standard’ neuronormative evidence-based care protocols when working with neurodivergent people.
• Offer concrete actionables for participants to integrate into practice to make our spaces safer for neurodivergent people, including our colleagues
• Speak and share from their own lived experience to help us better understand how we can build a strong community with everyone in mind.

Outline:

Neurodiversity-Affirming Care Foundations – with Jaslyn Dugmore (she/her)

Dismantling neuronormativity and ableism in dietetics: Arguments for change – with Natasha Lane (she/her)

"But that is not what we were taught!": Renovating your dietetic tool kit to be neurodiversity affirming - with Anna Rose (they/them)

Bringing lived experience into the picture - a Panel with Megan Sullivan, Ebony McCorkell and Nat Mullins

This workshop is eligible for 5 CPD Points and hours towards your CEDC Credential

Meet our Speakers:

PRICING:

AUD $169 + GST (for Australian residents only)

USD $149 (no tax)

AUD $169 (not tax) for all other countries

A group/team rate of $355 plus GST is available for up to 5 people (individual log ins available upon request to themindfuldietitian.com.au)

Equity pricing

Available to support people in low income countries and marginalised groups. Please email Fiona at themindfuldietitian@gmail.com for all details.

Group pricing

20% off available for groups of 5 or more, registering together including workplace or practice groups. Please email Fiona at themindfuldietitian@gmail.com for access to group codes

About our speakers:

Jaslyn Dugmore (she/her), APD

Jas is a PhD candidate exploring food and eating in the lives of people with dual diagnosis through a Mad Studies and Critical Theory lens. In her dietetic role, Jas facilitates ND-affirming nutrition groups for folks living with mental illness and substance use disorders. Jas uses the terms “mad”,  "mentally ill”, and “neurodivergent” to describe her living experience with ADHD and complex mental illness. In her approach to ND-affirming dietetic care, Jas draws from many modalities including Mad Studies, Critical Theory, Health at Every Size, and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy. 

Anna Rose (they/them), APD, CEDC

PhD Candidate, Bond University

Anna (they/them) is a late-identified neurodivergent (Autistic-ADHD), queer, non-binary Accredited Practising Dietitian and Credentialled Eating Disorder Clinician, with lived experience of a restrictive eating disorder. With undergraduate degrees in Business (Finance) and Nutrition and Dietetics (Hons), they have more than 12 years of experience as a paediatric dietitian. 

Anna has specialist dietetic skills in supporting families whose children are experiencing feeding/eating disturbances and delivering neurodiversity affirming support to neurodivergent people who are experiencing feeding and eating differences and disorders. They turned their focus to full time research in 2022 and are currently undertaking a PhD at Bond University where they are exploring the impact of neuronormative feeding and nutrition practices on the wellbeing and quality of life or neurodivergent children and adolescents and their families.

Anna is Deputy Chair of Eating Disorders Neurodiversity Australia (EDNA), a lived experience led not-for-profit organisation dedicated to advocating for improved awareness of, and support for, neurodivergent individuals experiencing a feeding or eating disorder. Anna also works as a Senior Teaching Fellow in Bond University's Master of Nutrition & Dietetic Practice and Medical Programs. In their spare time, Anna enjoys roller-skating, skateboarding, trading info-dumps, dancing wildly, and being silly with their two small humans.

Megan Jones (she/her), APD, CEDC

Megan is a dietitian (APD) and Credentialed eating disorder clinician (ANZAED) who resides in the beautiful Blue Mountains of NSW, Australia.
She is a late diagnosed ADHDer who is passionate about neurodiversity affirming practice and has a particular interest in supporting neurodivergent adults, children and their families with their nutrition and wellbeing. She is a non-diet/HAES  practitioner.
Megan has worked as a dietitian for more than 15 years across a variety of settings including as an inpatient dietitian, in health promotion, mental health, aged care, disability and community dietetics. More recently, she has worked with "The Divergent Edge" supporting neurodivergent adults and now in her own private practice "Quirky Dietetics" where she sees neurodivergent clients across the lifespan.   
She is a mum to several little humans and to a menagerie of animals, including her chicken "Dave" (who lays eggs). 

Ebony McCorkell (she/her), APD, CEDC

Ebony is a fat positive self-identified AuDHD dietitian who specialises in Eating Disorders, Gut Dysfunction, and Vegan/Vegetarian Nutrition. She is particularly interested in the intricate connections between neurodiversity and her other specialisations. She recognises neurodiversity often comes with an intrinsic drive towards justice (and therefore animal rights [among other things]), hypermobility and/or sensory sensitivities (and therefore gut dysfunction), and a need for emotional regulation, drive for autonomy, and sensory sensitivities (and therefore eating disorders). Like most AuDHDers, she's got a lot of thoughts (and sub thoughts [and therefore uses a lot of brackets...])"