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Parenting a neurodivergent child can come with its own unique challenges. Whether your child is autistic, has ADHD, or simply experiences the world differently, it’s normal to sometimes feel overwhelmed. At times like these, both you and your child may benefit from a little extra support. You might have heard about the various types of therapy, but making a choice about what's right for your family can feel overwhelming.
This guide aims to help you make sense of some of the most common therapy options available. We’ll look at how each approach works, who it’s best suited for, and how it might (or might not) support neurodivergent young people.
Traditional talking therapies, such as counselling and Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), can support children in exploring their emotional challenges and developing helpful coping skills. Counselling provides a safe space to talk through worries and build greater self-understanding. CBT focuses more on identifying unhelpful thoughts and learning ways to change them. Psychotherapy, including psychodynamic approaches, takes a deeper look at how past experiences and relationships might be influencing a child’s current struggles.
Overall, counselling tends to be focused on providing emotional support and understanding, CBT is more structured and goal-oriented and psychotherapy explores deeper emotional roots over a longer period. While CBT can be adapted for neurodivergent children, not all practitioners are trained to do so, so it’s worth asking before you begin.
There are many different kinds of therapy and many different kinds of therapists! Some professionals specialise in working with neurodivergent children, while others take a more general approach.
Usually, it is recommended that one course of individual therapy is completed before embarking on another, however work with the family can sometimes be effectively combined with individual work if the focus of the work is complementary.
If your child is very young or finds it hard to put their feelings into words, play therapy can be a gentle way to explore emotions. During the sessions, children are encouraged to express themselves through play, often with some guidance from the therapist to help shape the experience in a meaningful way and make sense of their inner world. Although play therapy isn’t specifically focused on neurodiversity, it can be especially helpful for children who communicate more easily through actions than words.
As children grow older and have the capacity to be more reflective, a wider range of therapy types may become suitable for them.
For example, hypnotherapy uses deep relaxation to help children explore anxiety or unhelpful habits and replace them with more positive patterns. While this isn’t specifically geared towards neurodivergent children, some find it useful - especially for managing anxiety.
Neurofeedback is an increasingly popular option for older children and teens. Real-time data from brainwave monitoring is used to help children learn how to calm their bodies and improve attention or emotional control. This approach requires commitment to daily practice, however some families report powerful changes, especially for children with ADHD.
Coaching can also be valuable for teenagers who are ready to work towards specific goals. General life coaching is often about direction and motivation, whereas resilience and wellbeing coaching can support mental health by helping people to develop coping strategies to handle stress and worry. A good coach will be able to cater for neurodivergent needs, even if this is not the focus of coaching. In contrast, Autism or ADHD coaching specifically supports young people in managing real-life challenges with practical strategies tailored to how their brain works. This covers areas such as executive function (e.g. organisation, time management and prioritisation), relationships and navigating school and social life.
One of the few therapies designed specifically for neurodivergent children is skill-building therapy, like the kind offered here at Assembly. This method puts parents at the heart of the process. Instead of focusing only on the child’s behaviour, it provides practical, evidence-based activities that families work through together, guided by a clinician. The goal is to strengthen emotional regulation, executive functioning, and social skills, while also helping parents better understand how their child’s brain works.
This type of therapy is especially helpful for children with mild to moderate mental health needs. Its focus on how neurodivergent brains work means that the therapy adapts to your child's unique way of thinking, offering flexible and understanding support.
Many neurodivergent children face sensory, motor, or communication challenges that affect their daily lives. This is where therapies like sensory integration therapy and speech and language therapy can make a huge difference.
Sensory integration therapy is usually provided by occupational therapists and helps children who struggle with movement, coordination, or sensory processing. Whether a child is sensitive to noise, finds it hard to sit still, or avoids certain textures, this therapy builds the skills needed to better manage and adapt.
Speech and language therapy supports children with communication difficulties, such as delays in speech, trouble understanding language, or challenges in social conversation. This can be especially important for autistic children who may process language differently or find social interaction overwhelming.
Sometimes, what’s needed isn’t just support for your child, but for the family as a whole. Family therapy creates space for everyone to be heard and to better understand one another. Especially when daily life feels stressful or disconnected, family therapy can improve communication, strengthen relationships, and build a more supportive and connected family dynamic.
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Successful talking therapies involve reflection, taking on new ideas AND trying out new behaviours and developing positive habits- this requires a level of motivation and ability to think things through and plan which is challenging for most young people, and is often especially difficult for neurodivergent children to manage on their own.
A family-based approach often achieves more significant and long-lasting improvements as small changes can be introduced and reinforced by all the key people in a child’s life. Parents are best placed to provide the scaffolding to enable the child to develop their skills. In addition, parents are uniquely positioned to encourage all members of the family to apply therapeutic insights in real-life situations.
There’s no one-size-fits-all when it comes to therapy. What matters most is that the approach feels right for your child and your family. Usually progress isn’t linear, but with the right support, patience, and understanding, positive growth is possible. If you’re ever unsure, don’t hesitate to ask the therapist about their approach, including how they adapt their work for neurodivergent children. A good therapist will welcome your questions and value your insights as a parent because you know your child best.
At Assembly, we can help parents to consider the pros and cons of different forms of therapy and identify what might be most effective for their child. Often these discussions result in parents choosing to try Assembly’s unique parent-led approach because it is focused on a holistic view of their child’s needs and harnesses their expertise and role as primary caregivers. Research shows that putting parents at the centre of the therapeutic process helps the child to continue to practice their new skills and improves longer term outcomes.
Our needs-led skill-building approach can also be undertaken alongside other types of therapy because it offers practical, day-to-day strategies that complements progress made in individual therapy sessions and strengthens family relationships.