Developing systemic empathy in work that includes neurodiverse children and young people

This presentation is about systemic empathy, I will share some examples from my practice where I have drawn on internalized other interviews (IOI’s) and letter writing to take an “As if” position. These systemically informed practices promote curiosity and provide a way to explore the possible experiences of children and young people with a learning disability. 

I will set the context for talking about systemic empathy by connecting to theories especially the Co-ordinated management of meaning (CMM) and cosmopolitan communication as a way of conceptualizing the abilities that we may need to communicate with someone whose experiences are different to our own. I will share some of my own personal and professional experiences that have influenced me in my practice, including as a parent of a young person who has a learning disability as one aspect of her identity. I will describe some of the ways that I have used IOI’s and letter writing in my practice including; to prepare to meet with a young person; to explore possible experiences of a diagnosis and the language used to describe this; the ways that others may respond to a child or young person with a learning disability and their experiences of this; to ask appreciative questions about the child or young person’s abilities; to invite the internalized child or young person to give advice on the relational responses that they prefer. 

I will invite participants to have an experience of an IOI using some of these questions and then to feedback on these practices. I will end by sharing some of my own reflections, including ethical considerations, of this work.