Neurodiversity Celebration Week
What is Neurodivergent?
According to the Neurodiversityweek.com website, the term neurodivergent refers to individuals with cognitive functioning that is different from what is considered 'normal'. This is a term that many neurodivergent individuals feel comfortable using to describe themselves. The term encompasses a wide range of disabilities such as ADHD, autism, dyslexia, specific learning difficulties (SpLD), and Tourette’s. While some of these conditions may be hereditary and passed down through genetics, others can be acquired through incidents of brain trauma.
When discussing someone who is neurodivergent, it is important to remember that it does not mean they or you are broken or weird. It simply means that their brain functions differently than others. And that's perfectly fine! While it may seem daunting, it is important to acknowledge that whatever disability you have, it can be an amazing strength for you.
ADHD:
ADHD, short for Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, is a condition that can make it feel like there are 30 tabs open in your mind. Some tabs may be playing TV shows, some may have music playing, and others may have tasks that you have been procrastinating on but know need to be done. All of these tabs remain open even when you are working on other tasks. Sound familiar?
Individuals with ADHD may experience restlessness, have the urge to walk around at inappropriate times during meetings, or exhibit twitchy leg movements or fidgeting with objects. These behaviors are less about behavior and more about how their brain functions. ADHD involves hyperactivity in the brain, racing thoughts, difficulty organizing thoughts logically, and an inability to slow down or stop the constant stream of thoughts.
While ADHD may seem like a disadvantage, it is actually a superpower. People with ADHD can hyper-focus on tasks, be highly expressive and creative, and have great long-term memory.
Autism Spectrum Condition (ASC) is a condition that can affect an individual's social interaction, communication, and behaviour. It is a spectrum condition; all this means is that it affects those who have it in different ways and to varying degrees.
Autism is a spectrum, it is not a linear and all this means is that they way autism affects you, it will affect someone else differently.
There are a lot of ideas out there about what autism is and how people who are autistic behave, but some of those ideas are wrong. There are common ideas that autistic people don’t like to socialise with other people, this is WRONG. People with autism do like to socialise, but over-socialisation, making them talk to lots of different people in a short amount of time, like attending two big events in two days, can make you feel stressed and burnt out, it’s not that you don’t like socialising, but rather you’re overstimulated and need a break.
The other misconception I want to bring attention to is the idea that autistic people are violent and aggressive. THEY’RE NOT. This idea has come from people who see people with autism having a meltdown and misinterpreting it as aggression. Now what has actually happened is: everyone has an internal bucket, and neurotypical people are able to limit how fast that bucket gets filled up with new information and tasks to do. However, people with autism, their bucket gets filled far quicker, and they require some decompression to reduce their bucket load. However, if that bucket is filled and someone happens to knock it over, it can lead to a meltdown. These can look violent, aggressive, or sometimes be internalised.
Despite the challenges, being diagnosed with autism comes with unique strengths. Individuals with autism are often detail-oriented, have areas of expertise, keen observational skills, and creativity.
While there are many other neurodivergent disorders not mentioned, each of them comes with its own set of strengths and "superpowers." Having a disorder like dyslexia, Tourette’s, or autism does not have to limit you or be a disadvantage. Many skills associated with these conditions are valuable and can be advantages that others may not possess.