Neurodiversity: We shall overcome, some day!

Neurodiversity seemed like something somebody else needed to think about, somebody else’s calling.

This was a word that would be dealt with by a Diversity & Inclusion (D&I) expert from a global business or government organisation that had the people, resources and spend to consider such a large word with no meaning to me.

Neurodiversity is bliss, Ignorance is just that!

So it came as a great surprise when I sat with other Resourcing Leaders in Whitstable several years ago and listened to the first introduction to the term Neurodiversity and realised I had been scared of my own shadow.

That Neurodiversity in fact described me!

In the bliss of my ignorance I was blind to a term that could offer me so much clarity and help explain so much about my own journey in life.

Ignorance was not bliss, it was just ignorance.

Neurodiversity, I can now say with a proud level of confidence, is used as the umbrella term for those who have brains that are structured in a way where they think differently (c.15% of the population) to the rest of the population.

Those who identify as Neurodiverse or Neurodifferent or Neurodivergent, have ADHD, Autism, Dyslexia, Dyspraxia or Tourette’s. Not all at once! Although the big news is, that a lot of us do identify with having a combination of some of the above.

This was a big shift for me, that you could be Dyslexic and have ADHD, and of course other impacting factors that play into human emotions and behaviour.

Because humans are complex and like our individual fingerprints, we also have individual brains to match!

Thinking differently is a normal part of human evolution and these minds have helped create some of the most incredible pieces of ART, solved mathematical problems and entertained the world amongst other entrepreneurial exploits.

Our world has created barriers to these types of minds and this is why I campaign and champion the positive aspects of having a brain that is wired differently to the majority of other brains.

But let’s not forget that all brains are unique and beautiful in their own light!