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Topic

Bearing Witness to Neurodivergent Indigenous People with Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder: Stories of Belonging, Strength, and Resilience

School of Social Work

Date & location

• Monday, January 12, 2026
• 9:00 A.M.
• First Peoples House, Ceremonial Hall

Examining Committee

Supervisory Committee

• Dr. Billie Allan, School of Social Work, ӣ��Ӱ�� (Supervisor)
• Dr. Rhonda Hackett, School of Social Work, UVic (Member)

External Examiner

• Dr. Sarah Wright Cardinal, School of Public Health and Social Policy, UVic

Chair of Oral Examination

• Dr. Jean-Paul Restoule, Department of Indigenous Education, UVic

Abstract

This research bears witness to neurodivergent Indigenous storytellers with Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), demonstrating the significance of how these intersectional identities have been influential in their development of a sense of belonging. Through the experiences of the researcher, who identifies as neurodivergent and Anishinaabe, and nine (9) other neurodivergent Indigenous people living in Canada, this research serves to contextualize the importance of belonging as a fundamental human need. The purpose of this research is to contribute to the growing conversations on the importance of belonging—particularly, how the development of a positive sense of belonging serves as an important indicator of social, mental, and physical wellbeing; and how negative experiences create a sense of unbelonging, contributing to poorer wellbeing and long-term outcomes. This work observes how belonging is used as a tool of oppression, arguing that conceptions of “normal” or “typical” are intentionally used as a method of “othering” to establish metrics of who belongs and who does not through colonial, white supremacist, and ableist ideologies. These ideologies are further supported by Eurocentric methods of research and data analyses that favour the medical model of disability. To challenge these notions, this research embraces frameworks that use the traditional medicine wheel to guide the process of bearing witness to Indigenous storytellers; challenge misconceptions and stereotypes associated with both Indigeneity and neurodivergence that negatively impact belonging; and demonstrate how a positive sense of belonging requires a balance between our physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual selves.