A free guide for paediatric clinicians
A Guide to Using Neurodiversity-Affirming Language in Reports
Wording, worked examples, and copy-paste phrases for funding-ready reports that don't lose your affirming practice.
Client is functioning approximately 3 years behind same-aged peers in adaptive daily living skills, particularly toileting, and has not yet met this developmental milestone.
The benchmark does the explaining
What you'll get
Three pages you can put to work on your next report
- Page 1 — the two paradigms, and why funding-ready reports pull against affirming practice.
- Page 2 — the copy-paste acknowledgement statement, and a worked example of writing toward function.
- Page 3 — the handover email we send families with every report.
Most of us don't write deficit-coded reports on purpose
We write them because that's the template, the training, and the language the funding system rewards, even when it sits at odds with the neurodiversity-affirming therapy we actually provide. Phrases like "fails to" and "presents with significant delay" feel objective and fundable. They also describe a child against a norm rather than describing what the child needs.
This guide walks through the five steps the Kid Link team uses to manage that clash, with the exact wording we use in real reports, ready to adapt for your practice. You're strengthening what you already write, not starting over.
Step one
Acknowledge the clash in the report itself
A short statement naming the gap between funding criteria and affirming practice, ready to copy and adapt.
Step two
Get informed consent before you start
How to prepare families for what the report will sound like, and why, before a word is written.
Step three
Write toward function wherever the report allows
Worked examples that keep standardised scores as evidence while the description does the explaining.
Step four
Use the client's own goals and language
Bringing the child's and family's perspective into the report, rather than only clinician-observed behaviour.
Step five
Soften the handover
The email wording we send with every report, acknowledging that these documents can be hard to read.
Your next report is a chance to try it
Two things you can use straight away: the acknowledgement statement for the report itself, and the handover email for families. Both are ready to copy and adapt.
Send me the guide