The EMPOWER Model Action Plan · Think Sensory Summit

Shifting from deficit-based practice to truly neurodiversity-affirming care requires more than good intentions—it requires a framework for examining your own biases, evaluating your tools, and reimagining what success looks like. This comprehensive action plan gives you exactly that.

The EMPOWER Model (Empowering Neurodivergent Occupational Participation and Well-being) provides a structured approach to anti-ableist occupational therapy practice, grounded in disability justice principles and designed for real-world application.

Inside this resource, you'll discover:

Guiding questions to help you recognize hidden biases and assumptions that may be influencing your practice
How to shift evaluations from comparing clients to "neuronormative standards" toward centering lived experiences and environmental supports
Practical tools for moving from compliance-based approaches to interoception-based curiosity about the "why" behind behaviors
Why reframing "low/high-functioning individuals" to "low/high-functioning environments" changes your entire approach
Specific affirming assessment tools that center the voices of neurodivergent individuals
How to support clients in developing positive disability identity and self-determination on their own terms
Resources created by or with neurodivergent individuals across feeding, self-advocacy, regulation, and social-emotional learning
Foundations in disability justice, trauma-informed care, antiracism, and strengths-based approaches that make neurodiversity-affirming practice possible

The resource includes fillable templates so you can create your own personalized action plan, along with academic references for deeper exploration of each component.

Written for practitioners ready to move beyond surface-level changes toward a genuine paradigm shift in how we support neurodivergent individuals—one that honors who they are rather than trying to "fix" who they're not.

Perfect for occupational therapists, speech-language pathologists, educators, and other professionals committed to building truly affirming practices from the ground up.

Bryden Carlson-Giving, OTD, OTR/L

Bryden Carlson-Giving, OTD, OTR/L is a Neurodivergent and Disabled occupational therapy practitioner (OTP) with experience in pediatric outpatient, inpatient, and school-based settings. Bryden earned his post-professional doctorate from Boston University, where his research focused on creating a toolkit to support OTPs in challenging ableism within the OT profession. This work led to the development of the first neurodiversity-affirming occupational therapy model, the EMPOWER model. He received the 2024 Emerging Leader Award from Boston University and the 2026 Gustavus Adolphus First Decade Award. He is the editor of "Neurodiversity-Affirming Occupational Therapy: Empowering Approaches to Foster Neurodivergent Participation", published in 2026.

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Bryden Carlson-Giving, OTD, OTR/L