Bangkok Deep Dive Workshop
Beyond the Diagnosis: Rethinking Neurodiversity in International Schools
Date: TBA
Time: TBA
Workshop Description
What happens when diagnosis becomes the primary lens through which we understand a neurodivergent student?
In international schools, diagnostic labels can influence access to support, accommodations, perceptions of behavior, and assumptions about what a student needs to succeed. Yet diagnosis tells us only part of the story and heavily relies on local external medical supports to be formalized. This interactive deep dive invites counselors to examine how culture, identity, masking, school expectations/policies, and the environment shape students’ experiences, and how our own systems
can unintentionally contribute to distress or exclusion.
Through case exploration, reflection, discussion, games, movement-based activities, and practical application, participants will examine three interconnected questions:
Diagnosis: When does difference become disorder, and what happens when diagnosis becomes a gateway to support? Participants will critically examine popular diagnostic language, including terms such as “Rejection Sensitivity Disorder,” and consider what may be gained or lost when complex experiences are turned into diagnostic explanations.
Identity: What are students adapting, masking, or code-switching to belong, and how might culture, gender, sexuality, language, and other identities intersect with neurodivergence?
Environment: What might change if we stopped asking only “What does this student need to change?” and also asked, “What does this environment demand of them?” Participants will explore sensory and emotional regulation, and concepts such as Pathological Demand Avoidance through a contextual and neuroaffirming lens.
Participants will leave with practical frameworks and adaptable tools for their own counseling and school settings.
About this Deep Dive Speaker
Denise Granai is a U.S.-certified school psychologist, Diplomate in School Neuropsychology, and neurodivergent professional with ADHD. She has 22 years of experience working in schools across California, Serbia, Egypt, the Netherlands, Thailand, and Bulgaria. She has worked extensively within international-school communities and with international organizations, providing assessment, counseling, consultation, counselor supervision, and professional learning both in person and virtually. Her work has included traveling internationally to support schools and students, as well as presenting with ISCA. Currently based in Southeast Asia, Denise’s work focuses on understanding students within the context of their environments rather than viewing differences solely through a diagnostic lens. Her professional interests include neuroaffirming practice, decolonizing approaches to wellness, (un)masking, intersectionality, and culturally responsive approaches to student support.
