This approach, championed by experts like Wayne McCashen, empowers you to be the expert in your own life. Here are 10 powerful questions, rooted in the strength-based approach, that you can use for self-reflection, journaling, or in conversations with a trusted support person.
1. Uncovering Your Undeniable Strengths
These questions help you recognize your unique neuro-strengths and the resources you already use every day.
- The Resilience Question: “How have I managed to keep going despite the challenges, sensory struggles, or burnout I’ve faced this past year?” (Focus on the how, it reveals your unique coping mechanisms.)
- The External Validation Question: “What would my closest friend, partner, or colleague say I am genuinely great at or uniquely talented in?” (This helps bypass internal criticism and see the positive impact you have.)
- The Resource Question: “What systems, tools, or environments (physical or digital) do I use right now that actually work for me, even if they aren’t ‘neurotypical’?” (Think special interests, hyperfocus, color-coding, or sensory management tools.)
- The Hidden Competency Question: “Tell me about a time I had a task or goal I really cared about and aced. What was different about that situation that allowed me to succeed?”
2. Defining Your Preferred Future
It’s hard to build a better future if you haven’t clearly defined what it looks and feels like. These questions help you set a clear, neuro-affirming goal.
- The Miracle Question (The ND Version): “Imagine a perfect day where you felt fully accommodated, understood, and energized. What would be the first small thing you would notice about your schedule, environment, or communication with others?” (Keep your answer concrete—e.g., I’d only have two meetings” or My lighting would be soft).
- The Better Day Question: “Describe a day where my neurotype felt like a superpower instead of a hindrance. What was I doing, and how did I feel?”
3. Finding Solutions and Next Steps
These questions help map your current skills to your future goals, encouraging small, sustainable action.
- The Exception Question: “Are there times when my sensory issues or my executive dysfunction is less overwhelming? What am I doing differently in those moments (even unconsciously)?” (Look for “exceptions” to the problem.)
- The Smallest Step Question (Scaling): “On a scale of 0 (total overwhelm) to 10 (fully thriving), where are you today? What would it take to move up just one point on that scale, and what is the smallest step I can take to make that happen?”
- The Partnering Question: “What support do I need to ask for, and from whom, to maintain that one-point improvement?” (Focuses on building external collaboration and advocacy.)
- The Meaningful Action Question: “What is the most important thing I want to feel or accomplish from reflecting on these questions today?”
By consistently asking yourself how you cope, what you already do well, and what a meaningful life looks like for you, you stop trying to fix your neurotype and start designing your life around your strengths.
Which one of these questions feels most powerful to you right now, and how might you use it this week?