Mindfulness and Neurodivergence

12 Apr

by Dr Kate Harman

Mindfulness seems to be an ever popular topic in the realm of health and wellness. Mindfulness may be something you’ve heard a bit about and think you should be doing. It might be in the same mental category as eating healthily and exercising more, things we aim to do because we know they’re good for us. But how much do you really know about mindfulness and what it is? Here I aim to dispel a few myths and help you learn more about what is involved in this ancient way of understanding ourselves and approaching the world.

What is mindfulness?

In the psychology of mental health, mindfulness refers to a form of meditation, originating from the ancient wisdom of Buddhist practices and philosophy developed thousands of years ago.

In health settings, mindfulness is secular and is aimed at improving mental wellbeing rather than enlightenment. At the same time, mindfulness is not a “tool” or “strategy” that can be separated from the underlying attitudinal foundations which take their inspiration from Buddhist teachings. Cultivating non-judging, gratitude, patience, a beginner’s mind, trust, non-striving, acceptance, letting go and generosity are all part of practising mindfulness.

Jon Kabat-Zinn is the founding father of secular mindfulness, having begun to research the effectiveness of Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) from as far back as the 1970’s and ‘80’s. He describes mindfulness as: ”awareness that arises through paying attention, on purpose, in the present moment, non-judgmentally, in the service of self-understanding and wisdom.”

In fact at its heart, mindfulness is not something you can “do” at all, mindfulness is a way of being in with yourself and the world around you, which is radically different to the usual hustle and bustle of modern life.

What are the benefits of mindfulness meditation?

The effects of mindfulness meditation have been examined in a plethora of research studies. Mindfulness meditation in the form of attending an 8-week Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) course has been shown to reduce stress and is associated with a range of health benefits such as: increased attention and concentration, enriched sensory experiences, increased immune response, decreased inflammation, fewer stress hormones and reduced blood pressure to name just a few.

The amount of mindfulness meditation practice appears to have a relationship with the potential benefits, with the best outcomes being seen in those who are practising for an average of 20-30 minutes per day.

Are there concerns with mindfulness meditation?

Some wide ranging studies introducing mindfulness in schools in both the UK and Australia have not shown any significant benefits to the majority of students. In fact some experienced negative effects of participating in the program. Concerns around one-size-fits-all programs of mindfulness are that these do not take into account individual differences or preferences and as a result, might actually do harm.

Criticisms of school-based mindfulness programs have been that students lacked the choice to decide whether this intervention was right for them and that the program might also have led to a lack of more appropriate support in some cases.

Potential contraindications to practising mindfulness can be: past experiences of trauma or psychosis and current severe depression. It is always best in these circumstances to seek the guidance of an experienced meditation teacher.

The key takeaway is that mindfulness is unlikely to be of benefit unless the person practising is motivated to do so and open to learning to relate to their experiences in this very particular way.

Can mindfulness help neurodivergent adults and children?

Despite increased interest and research into mindfulness meditation over the past few decades, it is only more recently that studies have focused on determining whether mindfulness is helpful for neurodivergent children and adults and if so, what type of practices may be helpful.

Most studies so far have looked at whether mindfulness can be helpful to autistic children and adults and the parents of autistic children. Evidence suggests that with modifications to the original protocols for Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) similar improvements to those seen in the general population may be possible for autistic people.
There is little at present which focuses on ADHD’ers and whether MBSR can be modified to be a suitable intervention for them.

How can I practice mindfulness?

If this blog post has sparked your interest in mindfulness, there really is no substitute for attending an 8-week Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction or Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy program for the potential to experience the full benefits seen in the research studies..

However, even if attending the full program is not possible or desirable at this time, here are some suggested ways to begin to bring more mindful awareness into your daily life as a neurodivergent person or parent of a neurodivergent child, or to encourage your child to do themselves:

Having an understanding of you or your child’s sensory profile before you begin to try meditation can change the experience. For example if you or they are predominantly sensation seeking, then you or they may find meditations that focus on sensory experiences more appealing. If you or your child more easily experience sensory overwhelm, you or they may find it supportive to use noise cancelling headphones, a weighted blanket or other sensory minimising aids.
With the above accommodations in mind try focusing on one particular body sensation for a few moments. This could be the flow of the breath, noticing where the breath is experienced in the body. Or focusing on the soles of the feet, the hands or any other part of the body. Try to just notice what is being experienced. It doesn’t need to be good or bad, it just is. If focusing on sensations in the body is not comfortable, try focusing on a particular object such as a fidget toy or even a pet.
Next time you are doing something ordinary such as doing the dishes or cleaning your teeth, instead of getting in your head to begin planning your next activity or rehashing past experiences, try really paying attention to the sensations experienced in the body whilst engaged in the activity. Try noticing whenever the mind gets caught up. Recognise this will happen over and over again and that’s ok.
Try stimming mindfully. When using a fidget toy or engaging in any stimming activity, try to pay attention to the sensations experienced in as much detail as possible. Imagine you are experiencing this for the first time and try to notice everything you can.
Try noticing the flow of your attention. Neurodivergent people can experience hyper-focus, especially when engaged in special interest activities. See if you can become aware of the direction of your attention, also noticing when your mind wanders away from your chosen focus. This is a moment of mindful awareness.
For some people movement can be helpful - meditation doesn’t have to be done sitting cross-legged on a cushion. Neurodivergent people may find mindful movement such yoga and walking meditations more accessible.
Above all, be kind to yourself. Try to let go of expectations. There is no goal for mindfulness meditation, it is simply about cultivating awareness of whatever is already happening.

For neurodivergent folks, the key message is giving yourself permission to make choices in how to practise meditation and what practices to do.

Remember there is no right or wrong way to meditate and mindfulness meditation is about developing a kinder awareness of ourselves and our world.

With this awareness we may be able to gift ourselves moments of freedom from the suffering of negative thought processes and the body’s stress reactions.

References

Mindful - What is mindfulness? The founder of Based stress reduction explains. https://www.mindful.org/jon-kabat-zinn-defining-mindfulness/

Deep dive: mindfulness in education could be doing more harm than good. https://psychologicalsciences.unimelb.edu.au/CSC/news/deep-dive-mindfulness-education-could-be-doing-more-harm-than-good

J Kabat-Zinn 1, A O Massion, J Kristeller, L G Peterson, K E Fletcher, L Pbert, W R Lenderking, S F Santorelli Effectiveness of a meditation-based stress reduction program in the treatment of anxiety disorders, Am J Psychiatry, 1992 Jul;149(7):936-43.

Britta K. Hölzel,*,a,b James Carmody,c Mark Vangel,a Christina Congleton,a Sita M. Yerramsetti,a Tim Gard,a,b and Sara W. Lazara Mindfulness practice leads to increases in regional brain gray matter density Psychiatry Res. 2011 Jan 30; 191(1): 36–43.

Hanna Agius Anne-Kristina Luoto, Tatja Hirvikoski Mindfulness-based stress reduction for autistic adults: A feasibility study in an outpatient context. 2023 Autism Vol 28, issue 3 https://doi.org/10.1177/13623613231172809