Neurodiversity Affirming Practices at Quad

Since the dawn of The Quad Manhattan, the founding mission has been to provide the highest level of programming to Twice Exceptional individuals and their peers. No matter who you are and how people describe you, the Quad believes you're awesome. So what are neurodiversity affirming practices?

Just saying someone is awesome isn't enough. The programming needs to match the belief that through unique challenges, admirable and useful traits in different personalities and development exist and should be fostered and celebrated.

Over the years, families have boasted the Quad's environment which is nothing short of warm and welcoming, non-punitive, and celebratory of students' strengths and challenges. The program lays unique emphasis on an integrated curriculum and psychosocial skill building through the lens of neurodiversity affirming practices. Using a strengths-based approach, we aim to capture our students’ unique abilities, gifts, and talents.

Rather than simply providing reinforcement or consequences for behavior, we seek out the “why” that is driving behaviors and view all behavior as a form of communication. The programming emphasizes the development of self-advocacy, emotional regulation, and effective strategies for meeting social and emotional needs in healthy, adaptive ways.

Over several years, The Quad Manhattan’s curriculum has evolved with the ever-changing landscape of neurodiversity-affirming practices. Rather than working with twice-exceptional (2e) children through a deficit-based lens, the program recognizes the strengths within commonly misunderstood traits. We celebrate the unique ways Quad learners experience their worlds! 

Early Quad inspirations by research and training texts like, Look Me in the Eye by John Elder Robison and Ungifted by Scott Barry Kaufman perpetuated ideals in the field that individuals on the Autism spectrum and other learning differences have more to offer than society believed at the time. Now followed by journalist Eric Garcia's We're Not Broken and Barry Kaufman's newer releases like Wired to Create, we consider a deeper understanding of the limitless abilities of entire populations of people from new perspectives.

For example, many Quad students have been described as being concrete thinkers, with a strong tendency towards emotional intensity and perseverative thinking. Concrete thinking often manifests as a strong attention to detail with an eye towards precision, accuracy, and reasoning. Perseverative thinking often yields deep passion and expertise in areas of interest. Emotional intensity often manifests as a high capacity for empathy, advocacy, and a strong sense of fairness and justice. 

Quad instructors celebrate concrete thinking when the time is right and teach how to take perspective when appropriate. Additionally, we foster students' passions and interests through engaging and high level talent development projects led by experts in the industries to answer the hard-hitting questions of our inquisitive minds while teaching effective leadership and communication skills to propel creativity, not subdue it. Finally, for our future litigators of the world, we teach constructive debate skills so all voices are heard, recognized, and appreciated as part of the greater community of reason.

Piloted in the late twenty-teens and revamped post-pandemic, the Junior Counselor Program (photo below) at The Quad Manhattan has provided tools and resources to teenagers seeking real-world work experiences through volunteer and paid opportunities at the summer program. For ages 15+, students return to the program as young adults to offer their unique skillset to working with a younger population of 2e students. They offer guidance, support, and reflection from the perspective of someone who has potentially been in similar shoes. While bringing their own creativity to the forefront as apprentices in talent development classes, each Junior Counselor also attends a first year seminar to reflect on aspects of the job, socialize with peers, and breakdown the Activities of Daily Living (ADLs) associated with working at the program like time management, nutrition, self-advocacy and goal making, and more.

Also in full swing is the Counselor-In-Training program, a micro-version of the junior counselor program where kids ages 12+ attend full time programming while emerging in mentorships and ADL-related Core activities.

Finally, The Quad has had the unique opportunity to hire back graduates of Quad Programming as regular staff members in our community programs, working in 1:1 talent development, small groups, and more.

Society has long benefited from diverse thinkers. By supporting 2e learners in understanding their own unique traits, The Quad is helping to shape creative thinkers and problem-solvers.