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Exploring Occupational Therapists' Transition to Neurodiversity Affirming Practice: A Discourse Analysis
Christie Welch1, Kajaani Shanmugarajah1, Muzi Li1
1Department of Occupational Science & Occupational Therapy, Temerty Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, USA.
Occupational Therapy in Health Care
|February 1, 2026
Summary
Occupational therapy clinics' websites show mixed language and practices regarding neurodiversity-affirming care for autistic individuals. A critical review reveals gaps between stated intentions and actual service descriptions, urging more reflexive practice.
Area of Science:
- Occupational therapy
- Discourse analysis
- Neurodiversity studies
Background:
- Occupational therapy (OT) private practices serve autistic individuals.
- Website language shapes perceptions of OT services for autism.
- Neurodiversity-affirming practice is an emerging framework in OT.
Purpose of the Study:
- To analyze the language used on OT clinic websites describing services for autistic people.
- To evaluate alignment between website discourse and neurodiversity-affirming principles.
- To identify gaps between stated intentions and implicit practices in OT service provision.
Main Methods:
- Discourse analysis of website content from 24 occupational therapy private practices.
- Web-based search for relevant clinic websites.
- Comparison of discursive practices with neurodiversity-affirming tenets.
Main Results:
- Website language revealed a complex mix of neurodiversity-affirming and non-affirming discursive patterns.
- Some services and language aligned with neurodiversity principles, while others diverged or were ambiguous.
- Inconsistencies were found between therapists' stated intentions for neuro-affirming care and their website's service descriptions.
Conclusions:
- A significant gap exists between stated intentions and implicit beliefs in occupational therapy for autistic individuals.
- There is a need for increased reflexivity and critical examination of communication and practice within OT.
- Strategies are proposed to help occupational therapists align their discursive practices with neurodiversity-affirming principles.
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