Considerations regarding child and parent neurodiversity in family court

• Published date: 01 July 2022
• Author: Daniel B. Pickar
• Date: 01 July 2022
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1111/fcre.12655

ARTICLE

Considerations regarding child and parent

neurodiversity in family court

Daniel B. Pickar

Independent Practice of Child and Family

Clinical and Forensic Psychology, Santa Rosa,

CA, USA

Correspondence

Daniel B. Pickar, ABPP, 1212 College Ave.,

Suite A, Santa Rosa, CA 95404, USA.

Email: dpickar@sbcglobal.net

Abstract

Family court professionals must continually be developing a

greater appreciation of diversity in its many forms. As with

cultural diversity and non-traditional families, neurodiversity

in children and parents is another social justice issue in

which overt or implicit bias may impact child custody

decision-making, such as when a divorcing parent has a sig-

nificant psychiatric or neurocognitive condition. The neu-

rodiversity perspective, while having its limitations, can help

reduce bias in family court by recognizing that there is a

broad range of brain functioning, while taking a strengths-

based approach, as opposed to a pathology orientation. This

article will define neurodiversity, address how the stigma of

mental health conditions can lead to automatic negative

presumptions about parental competency, as well examine

how the voices of neurodiverse children can be better

heard in family court processes. Lastly, principles for court

personnel to consider with neurodiverse parents and chil-

dren will be elucidated.

KEYWORDS

ADHD children and divorce, autistic Spectrum disorders, bias in

family law, child custody, disability justice, divorce and children

with disabilities, neurodiversity, special needs children and

divorce

The author wishes to acknowledge the contributions of Robert Kaufman, Ph.D., ABPP to the development of many of the ideas presented here on the

topic of children with special needs in the context of family court, as has been duly referenced in our joint publications contained within.

I am grateful to Leah Pickar, MSW candidate at Smith College School for Social Work, for her thoughtful review of this article.

DOI: 10.1111/fcre.12655

© 2022 Association of Family and Conciliation Courts.

492 Family Court Rev. 2022;60:492–506.

wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/fcre