Concept Paper: Establishing a Neurodiversity-Affirming Standard of Excellence: The Role and Rationale of the International College of Neurodivergent Practitioners (ICNP)

I. Introduction Neurodivergent Individuals

Those whose neurological functioning diverges from sociocultural norms-face chronic barriers to access, dignity, and inclusion. Historically, systems such as education, healthcare, and public safety have treated neurological difference through deficit-based lenses, resulting in pathologization, coercion, and systemic exclusion (Kapp, 2020). In particular, neurodivergent voices have often been marginalized in the development of policies and practices meant to serve them. The ICNP seeks to redress these harms by establishing a framework for ethical, inclusive, and evidence-informed credentialing.

II. Conceptual Framework

The ICNP’s mission and standards are built on a multidisciplinary foundation that includes:

1. Neurodiversity Paradigm Coined by Judy Singer and expanded through autistic scholarship, the neurodiversity paradigm reframes neurological variation as a natural and valuable aspect of human diversity, rather than a disorder to be corrected (Kapp, 2020).
2. Disability Justice Disability justice, as articulated by scholars and activists such as Piepzna-Samarasinha (2018), emphasizes intersectionality, collective care, and leadership by those most impacted. It recognizes that ableism intersects with racism, sexism, classism, and other forms of oppression.
3. Trauma-Informed Practice Trauma-informed care promotes safety, trustworthiness, collaboration, and empowerment (Bath, 2008). ICNP embeds these principles to prevent retraumatization and support healing environments.
4. Universal Design for Learning (UDL) UDL encourages flexibility in how information is presented, how learners engage, and how success is measured. It forms a pedagogical backbone for inclusive practices that benefit all learners (Meyer, Rose, & Gordon, 2014).

III. Mission, Vision, and Purpose

The ICNP exists to credential practitioners, caregivers, educators, and leaders who demonstrate alignment with neurodiversity-affirming values. Its mission is to prepare professionals who prioritize dignity, autonomy, and inclusion. Its vision is one in which neurodivergent individuals are full participants in all areas of society. The College affirms that meaningful inclusion must go beyond access-it must dismantle systemic barriers and elevate neurodivergent leadership.

IV. Neurodiversity-Affirming Code of Ethical Practice

ICNP’s code is a binding document that establishes professional and ethical standards across eight domains, including respect for autonomy, non-coercive intervention, equity, collaboration, and accountability. Unlike conventional ethical codes, which may center organizational compliance or clinical neutrality, the ICNP code is explicitly activist in nature. It calls upon practitioners to actively dismantle systems of oppression and to affirm lived experience as a source of expertise.

V. Credentialing Model

ICNP offers multiple certification pathways to meet the needs of various sectors:

1. Certified Neurodiversity Advocate (CNA)
2. Certified Neurodiversity Educator (CNE)
3. Certified Neurodivergent First Responder (CNFR)
4. Fellow, International College of Neurodivergent Practitioners (FICNP)

Each certification is rooted in a core curriculum, applied learning, and ethical affirmation. Assessment includes scenario-based examinations, reflective portfolios, and a signed ethical commitment. The Fellowship designation honors those with sustained impact in neurodivergent inclusion, policy, or practice.

VI. Reconceptualizing Behavior Analysis: Understanding Over Modification

The ICNP’s Behavior Analysis Add-On Pathway critically engages with the historical and current use of behavior analysis. Traditional approaches to behaviorism, particularly in applied settings, have often emphasized compliance, normalization, and behavior suppression (Sandoval-Norton & Shkedy, 2019). This legacy includes the use of token economies, aversives, and reinforcement schedules aimed at extinguishing neurodivergent expressions such as stimming or echolalia.

The ICNP approach rejects such coercive methods. Instead, it affirms a paradigm shift that centers understanding over modification. Practitioners are trained to view behavior as a form of communication-one that is contextually bound and shaped by environmental, sensory, and relational variables. Functional assessments, therefore, must explore not only what a person is doing, but why they are doing it, what unmet needs are present, and how the environment can be adapted to reduce distress and increase autonomy (Hanley, Jin, Vanselow, & Hanratty, 2014).

The ICNP model encourages practitioners to:

• Seek meaning in behavior rather than focusing on extinction.
• Collaborate with neurodivergent individuals in co-creating support plans.
• Prioritize dignity and relational safety over compliance.
• Avoid reinforcing neurotypical standards of behavior at the expense of authenticity.
• Honor behaviors that serve a self-regulatory or expressive function.

This reconceptualization of behavior analysis is not merely ethical-it is essential. By focusing on understanding, practitioners shift from a paradigm of control to one of compassion and connection.

VII. Oversight and Ethics Review

ICNP’s ethics review process reflects its trauma-informed and restorative values. It includes clear procedures for complaint submission, case review, disciplinary action, and appeals. The process centers the rights of both complainants and credential holders and seeks not only to determine accountability but also to foster ethical growth.

VIII. Renewal and Lifelong Learning

Credential renewal requires continuing education, ethical reaffirmation, and reflective practice. This ensures that ICNP credential holders remain current with evolving research, community expectations, and cultural competency standards. Ethics is not static; it is a practice of lifelong accountability.

IX. Call to Action

The ICNP offers more than certification-it offers a cultural and ethical transformation. It responds to a history of harm by creating pathways of healing, empowerment, and systemic change. It calls upon professionals to move beyond neutrality, toward active allyship, reflective humility, and inclusive excellence.

Educators, clinicians, advocates, and public safety personnel are invited to join a global network committed to equity, access, and neurodivergent flourishing. By earning an ICNP credential, they affirm a professional identity rooted not in correction, but in connection.

References

Bath, H. (2008). The three pillars of trauma-informed care. Reclaiming Children and Youth, 17(3), 17-21.

Hanley, G. P., Jin, C. S., Vanselow, N. R., & Hanratty, L. A. (2014). Producing meaningful improvements in problem behavior of children with autism via synthesized analyses and treatments. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 47(1), 16-36. https://doi.org/10.1002/jaba.106

Kapp, S. K. (2020). Autistic community and the neurodiversity movement: Stories from the frontline. Springer.

Meyer, A., Rose, D. H., & Gordon, D. (2014). Universal design for learning: Theory and practice. CAST Professional Publishing.

Piepzna-Samarasinha, L. L. (2018). Care work: Dreaming disability justice. Arsenal Pulp Press.

Sandoval-Norton, A. H., & Shkedy, G. (2019). How much compliance is too much compliance: Is long-term ABA therapy abuse? Cogent Psychology, 6(1), 1641258. https://doi.org/10.1080/23311908.2019.1641258