Table 1.

Summary of recommendations to improve alignment of NDBIs with the neurodiversity paradigm

Overall area	Description	Practical recommendations
Centering autistic voices	Clinicians and researchers should seek out input from Autistic individuals regarding intervention goals and implementation, as certain social and behavioral goals may be harmful to Autistic people’s well-being, as might pathology language and assumptions	Hire Autistic consultants  Are the goals appropriate and respectful?  Is the intensity appropriate?  Is the implementation appropriate and respectful? Hire Autistic interventionists Provide psychoeducation related to neurodiversity to parents (in collaboration with Autistic consultants/employees) as early as the first diagnostic feedback session Encourage autism acceptance Direct attention to child strengths Suggest alternatives to pathology language
Improving social and ecological validity	Social validity must be assessed in all intervention contexts, particularly from the perspective of the Autistic client More needs to be known about the extent to which community NDBIs reflect the core values of both NDBIs and neurodiversity	Include social validity measures in all NDBI research trials  For example, the STP (Berger et al., 2016)  Include self-report measures if possible Include measures of Quality of Life to ensure correspondence between intervention and real-life outcomes Develop measures of social validity for non-speaking individuals Survey community providers Ensure measures of social validity are statistically validated to limit subjectivity Evaluate cultural biases and acknowledge cultural differences
Improved research design	Participatory action research Disclosure of conflicts of interest Reporting of adverse events Adaptive treatment designs	Include stakeholders, particularly Autistic ones, from the beginning of all research projects Intervention researchers must disclose any potential COI related to the intervention being investigated All behavioral intervention trials must assess adverse events, including psychological distress Allow for flexibility in research such that interventions can be individualized