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Sensory Issues One of the hallmarks of several neurodivergent conditions is sensory issues. Like practically everything else in life, sensory issues exist on a spectrum that's not linear. My favorite analogy is to a bowl of Skittles, where each color is a different trait. Each person who reaches in and grabs a handful of Skittles will grab a slightly different mix. That's the sensory spectrum I'm talking about. Bonus: The Skittle analogy is also perfect for the "autism spectrum" (please don't use this term unless your client uses and prefers it) and for the vast number of overlapping traits that people of many neurodivergent diagnoses may share. Neurodivergent people can be sensory avoidant, sensory seeking, or both. The degree of sensitivity can vary from one day, hour, or minute to the next depending on the amount of sensory, mental, and emotional input they've already processed. The same is true of your neurotypical clients who are stressed out, get migraine headaches, or experience hormonal f luctuations. Visual For many neurodivergent people, lighting is a major sensitivity. Bright and f luorescent lights can wreak havoc with the neurodivergent nervous system and cause a great deal of pain and sensory overload. They can also be problematic for many migraineurs and people with certain eye conditions, such as glaucoma. While this shouldn't be an issue in your treatment room, it could be a problem in your waiting room or other nontreatment spaces. Along with sensitivities, there are visual processing issues; dyslexia is the most well-known of these, with 20 percent of the population estimated to be dyslexic. To best serve your dyslexic clients, you'll want to make sure that as much of your written communication as possible (i.e., website, emails, and intake and consent forms, whether printed or online) are dyslexia-friendly. One last visual issue you may need to accommodate is aphantasia, which is a decreased or total inability to see things in your mind's eye. This will only affect you if you do guided meditations or visualizations with your clients. Some people with aphantasia have developed work-arounds for their diminished or lack of internal imagery, but some have not. For this reason, I suggest asking clients if they're open to a short, guided meditation at the beginning or end of the session, as well as changing the word visualize to imagine. The word imagine frees them to use the rest of their senses to create the feeling you're likely expecting. Bonus: For your strong-minded neurotypical clients who hate being told what to do, both alternatives give them choice and agency, which will help them relax into the experience. L i s te n to T h e A B M P Po d c a s t a t a b m p.co m /p o d c a s t s o r w h e reve r yo u a cce s s yo u r favo r i te p o d c a s t s 57 Most Common Neurodivergent Conditions Apraxia/dyspraxia Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) Autism Dyscalculia (difficulty with math) Dysgraphia (difficulty writing) Dyslexia Obsessive-compulsive disorder Social anxiety (only this specific type of anxiety) Sensory processing disorders Tourette's syndrome Fibromyalgia is an apt massage- related analogy for neurodivergence. Not all fibro patients have the same tender points, pain patterns, set of pain-flare triggers, or length and intensity of a pain flare. Apply that to the brain, and you'll start to understand neurodivergence.