Different - Not Defective

Some of you may have heard the term neurodiverse, but many do not really understand what that means.  The word neurodiversity was first coined in the 1990s by Australian social scientist Judy Singer, who is autistic. The term originally referred most commonly to autism but has since come to include ADHD, dyslexia, OCD, Tourette's, synesthesia, and a variety of learning, processing and developmental differences.

 

These neurological differences are the result of natural variations in the human genome. They are not the result of disease or injury. There is nothing to “cure”. Instead, they are differences that need to be respected, understood and supported – not seen as disordered.

 

Brain differences are just that – differences. Neurodiverse people may act in differently or in unexpected ways, resulting in unwanted negative misinterpretations from others. This is due to other people’s lack of understanding or awareness…and sometimes prejudice and ignorance.

 

COMMON CHARACTERISTICS OF NEURODIVERGENCE MAY INCLUDE:

  • Sensory differences: sensory sensitive

  • Social differences

  • Special interests or ability to hyper-focus on one subject or task

  • Creativity in the arts

  • Giftedness in math and technology or struggle with math and technology

  • Deep empathy and strong sense of justice

  • Powerful experience of emotions

  • Enhanced ability to learn languages, or difficulty learning languages

  • Different relationship to gender and sexual orientation

  • Ability to think “outside the box”

  • Enhanced memory, or difficulty with working memory

  • Limited “social battery:” needs more alone time to recharge

  • Ability to recognize patterns and notice small details

  • Need for movement breaks

  • Need to stim

 

Rather than seeking to “cure” neurodiverse people, we need to work more on raising awareness, educating others, modifying environments to be more accessible, reducing stigma and embracing the often-hidden talents of people who might be overlooked.

 

Neurodiverse groups offer a different way of thinking, and an ability to perceive and create differently. Art, music, innovation, and advances in medicine and technology are often made possible by contributions from neurodiverse groups who are able to “think outside of the box.”

 

There are so many well-known people who credit their success to their ability to think differently; many of whom openly speak about their neurodiversity. Such people as: actors Anthony Hopkins & Leonardo DiCaprio, musicians David Byrne, Billie Eilish & Justin Timberlake, actresses Katharine Hepburn & Jessica Alba, athlete David Beckham, comedian Jerry Seinfeld, director Tim Burton, physicist Albert Einstein, astronomer Carl Sagan, author Jane Austen, philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche, and entrepreneurs Bill Gates & Steve Jobs.

 

Take time to educate yourself, talk with others, and help raise awareness. There are some wonderful organizations who support destigmatizing neurodiverse people, and unfortunately there are still too many organizations & individuals who seek to find a “cure”. Let’s embrace neurodiversity!

Heather Kassman