Title: What is the neuropsychology profession doing about disability?

This keynote paper will call for a radical shift in the way that we approach disability as a profession, and the ways in which we can influence the cultural change needed in society more broadly. This talk will not treat disability as a minority issue but will place it front and centre of our professional practice since the majority of our clients live with disability (even if they do not identify as disabled). It will consider how we, as neuropsychologists, understand disability and how this permeates our approach to assessment, rehabilitation, psychometrics and research. Affirmative ways of working with people with disability will be discussed. The impact of unconscious bias on the construction of shared meanings about disability will be explored, including how our own conceptualisations are likely to influence our clients’ ability to adjust, to navigate society’s barriers and to incorporate disability into their sense of self. Consideration will be given to how neuropsychological practice can acknowledge and address the structural inequalities that people with disabilities experience in their day-to-day lives. 

This talk is intended as a call to action, to stimulate essential conversations, raise questions for our discipline, and to move us towards a re-evaluation of our approach to disability.