As “neuro-affirming” practice becomes more visible, an increasing number of sex education resources are being labelled as neuro-affirming. Yet many of these resources are not designed with neurodivergent people in mind. Instead, existing neurotypical programs are lightly adjusted – simpler language, fewer euphemisms, added visuals – and rebranded, without questioning the assumptions beneath them.

Using sex education as a case study, this presentation examines a broader issue in neurodivergent wellbeing: what happens when neurodivergence is treated as something to manage, rather than something to design for. When deficit-based assumptions about learning, safety, and development remain unexamined, even well-intentioned resources can fall short. In these cases, “neuro-affirming” labels may reassure adults while leaving neurodivergent children with less clarity, reduced agency, and fewer protective outcomes.

Drawing on lived experience as an autistic educator and practice-based work in family sex education, this presentation explores why adapting neurotypical resources is often insufficient when the underlying model remains unchanged. Neuro-affirming practice requires more than accessible presentation. It must reflect how neurodivergent people experience communication, regulation, relationships, and meaning in everyday life. When these experiential differences are overlooked, resources may appear inclusive while continuing to prioritise manageability over understanding.

Although grounded in sex education, the insights shared are transferable across education, therapy, and family support contexts. The presentation offers a practical reflective lens for evaluating whether a resource genuinely supports neurodivergent wellbeing – or simply repackages neurotypical norms using inclusive language.

Feeding and eating challenges are rarely just about food for neurodivergent people. They often sit alongside anxiety, sensory sensitivities, trauma histories, burnout, and ongoing nervous system stress. However, many current feeding and eating disorder interventions are still based on behavioural or cognitive models that focus on changing eating behaviour through exposure or cognitive reframing. While these approaches may help some individuals, they can increase distress or even be experienced as traumatic for neurodivergent people.

This presentation explores how feeding support can evolve toward more affirming practice. Drawing on clinical practice and lived experience, it explores how sensory differences, interoception, trauma, and long-term stress can shape eating experiences. Presentations such as Avoidant/Restrictive Food Intake Disorder (ARFID) are used as examples of how traditional approaches can fall short when these factors are overlooked.

The session introduces a responsive, regulation-informed feeding framework and shows how clinicians can apply it in everyday practice. The framework combines nervous system awareness, sensory understanding, nutrition support, and coregulation. It provides a clear structure for guiding feeding therapy while remaining flexible enough to be used by clinicians across different disciplines. Rather than focusing first on exposure or intake, the approach starts with safety and regulation as the foundation for change.

Participants will leave with three key takeaways:

• A regulation-based way of understanding feeding difficulties, moving beyond purely behavioural explanations toward an integrated brain-body perspective.

• A clearer understanding of how trauma, burnout, and long-term stress can affect eating.

• A practical framework for sequencing feeding support, where regulation, responsiveness, and safety form the foundation for change.
Participants will be invited to reflect on how these ideas could apply in their own work. The presentation concludes by exploring how responsive feeding can help neurodivergent people build a more positive relationship with food.