Document Type

Article

Publication Date

2026

DOI

10.15241/egs.16.1.1

Publication Title

The Professional Counselor

Volume

16

Issue

1

Pages

1-13

Abstract

The counseling profession is rooted in prevention, wellness, mental health, and a critical social justice approach to serving historically marginalized communities, including people with disabilities. The overarching construct of disability comprises subtypes, such as neurodivergence. Given the prevalence of neurodivergent individuals worldwide (approximately 15%-20%), the counseling profession must be prepared to support this community. At the same time, there is a dearth of peer-reviewed literature on neurodiversity specifically for the counseling profession. In this article, we address a timely topic in the profession. We discuss utilizing a critical counseling lens and centering marginalized identities, such as people with disabilities; prominent disability models, including the neurodiversity paradigm; and suggestions to infuse neurodiversity throughout the counseling profession.

Rights

© 2026 NBCC, Inc. and Affiliates. All rights reserved.

Included with the kind written permission of the copyright holder.

ORCID

0000-0003-4129-3308 (Goodman-Scott), 0009-0001-0460-5424 (Albright)

Original Publication Citation

Goodman-Scott, E., Boulden, R., Albright, A., Alvarez, J., & Perez, B. M. (2026). Counseling and the neurodiversity paradigm: A call to action. The Professional Counselor, 16(1), 1-13. https://doi.org/10.15241/egs.16.1.1

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