Presenters: Ludmila Praslova, Julius Towers, Deborah Shukyn-Plageman, and Meena Reher-Kelkar, Vanguard University of Southern California

This presentation will explore mental health and neurodivergence in the context of barriers to workplace employment and organizational participation and (b) potential interventions (e.g., supports/accommodations) to the same through an intentionally neurodivergent lens and in an intersectional context (e.g., neurodivergent + gender + class). Neurodivergent people experience many barriers to employment access and success. Often, these barriers are made even more impenetrable by intersectional marginalization (Praslova, 2022). In this panel presentation, four neurodivergent professionals will discuss their experiences with intersectional neuro inclusion barriers, such as rigid social norms and inaccessible spaces, their impact on mental health and wellbeing, and the potential solutions. 

The presentation will primarily apply a narrative, qualitative approach and interrogate the subject matter through a set of questions/conundrums from the perspective of neurodivergent+ (i.e., neurodivergent & additional minoritized identity characteristic(s)) presenters from a diverse spectrum of lived experiences, educational/professional backgrounds, substantive expertise and foci, in order to create a multifaceted view of the central topic. 

The presenters will discuss their individual experiences under (a) and offer personal/group observations and suggestions under (b) that will be practical-oriented, focus and celebrate neurodivergent+ strengths, resilience, and adaptation. Doing so situates the presentation from a real life, authentic perspective as opposed to largely theoretical one, which while useful in problematizing the issue, may come across as excessively amorphous and academic in scope.   the presenters believe will resonate with, and be accessible to, a broad swath of conference attendees, especially those who are neurodivergent/neurodivegent+. Moreover, the neurodivergent+ composition of the presentation panel addresses the pervasive lack of neurodivergent/neurodivergent+ individuals leading discussions on neurodiversity.