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Neurodiversity affirming practice is not only a matter of inclusion; it's an ethical responsibility. This one hour webinar introduces the social model of disability and the disability rights principle of “Nothing About Us Without Us” as practical guideposts for ethical work with neurodiverse individuals in employment and rehabilitation settings. Participants will explore how traditional deficit based assumptions and existing systems can unintentionally create or reinforce barriers, even when intentions are good.
In addition to gaining insight and awareness, participants will leave with practical strategies for applying the social model of disability in everyday practice – strategies that strengthen advocacy, elevate voices, and support more collaborative, respectful, and ethically grounded employment services. This session will help equip professionals to advocate and create environments where neurodiverse individuals can participate fully, are welcomed and belong.
Objectives
- Describe the social model of disability and explain how it can inform ethical, neurodiversity-affirming practice in contrast to deficit-based or medicalized views of disability.
- Identify key principles from the ACA and CRC Codes of Ethics that support autonomy, dignity, informed choice, cultural responsiveness, self-determination, and respect for lived experience.
- Explain the ethical significance of “Nothing About Us Without Us” when developing employment services, programs, policies, and research that affect neurodiverse individuals.
- Apply social model and ethics-code principles to practical strategies for providing person-centered, autonomy-respecting, and neurodiversity-affirming services.
About the presenter:
Amber Brasher is a rehabilitation professional with a Master of Science in Clinical Mental Health Counseling from the University of North Texas. She has over five years of experience working at UNT WISE in training, program coordination, and organizational-level support for community rehabilitation professionals, and is currently furthering her studies by pursuing a Graduate Academic Certificate in Qualitative Research.
Amber's work is grounded in person-centered practice, disability inclusion, vocational rehabilitation principles, and dignity-affirming approaches that support autonomy, self-advocacy, and meaningful employment outcomes. She is especially interested in how employment services can move beyond compliance toward more humane, relationship-centered practice, where people are understood in the context of their lived experiences, strengths, identities, communities, and hopes for the future. Her approach emphasizes ethical responsibility, respect for voice and agency, and the importance of creating neurodiversity-affirming systems where people are not only served, but feel heard, valued, and supported.
This commitment also informs her service and leadership within the university and community. Amber has served multiple terms in leadership positions with UNT’s Neurodiversity Professional Network Diversity and Inclusion Employee Resource Group, as well as multiple terms on the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee of the University Staff Council. She is also involved with the Neuro-Narratives Oral History Project through UNT LEAPH, a digital archive focused on preserving neurodiverse perceptions, storytelling, and lived experience.
Across these roles, Amber has sought to put neurodiversity-affirming values into practice by supporting spaces where neurodiverse voices are included in the conversations, programs, policies, and research that affect them. She is particularly interested in dismantling systemic barriers through least-restrictive, person-centered practices that center relationship, choice, lived experience, and the unique perspectives of people whose voices have too often gone unheard.
