Neurodiversity Celebration Week

This week is Neurodiversity Celebration Week, internationally.

This week was created to challenge some of the stereotypes and false impressions about the neurological differences across all people. 

Neurodiversity is a big umbrella, and there many conditions and syndromes that sit under this. These are some of them; ADHD, Autism Spectrum Disorder (including Asperger’s Syndrome), Dyslexia, Dyspraxia (DCD), Down Syndrome, Dyscalculia, Dysgraphia, OCD, Bipolar, Tourette Syndrome and so many more that I am learning about.

Neurodivergent as a term is a way to describe people using words other than “normal” and “abnormal.” As someone new to this world and having friends under the same large umbrella, there really is no agreed or single definition of “normal” for how the human brain works.

So, the term neurodivergent was created as an alternative to other negative terms and the fun fact it was created by Australian Sociologist, Judy Singer in the 1990s. Also, the opposite of neurodivergent is “neurotypical.” 

ADHD, or Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, is a neurodevelopmental disorder. It is usually diagnosed in children, however, in later life it affects anywhere between 2-5% of adults. Most of who are undiagnosed…like I was until this year. 

I guess you probably want to know why I have created this post.

Part of this is about me sharing information on Neurodiversity and the learning journey I am on. Until recently I knew bits and pieces about my family, friends and work mates who identified as neurodivergent and how I was able to support them where I could. The other part of this post was about me putting my hand up to share that over the last year I have been spending a lot of time with my GP, Psychologist and Psychiatrist to understand and now have a diagnosis that I have ADHD.

ADHD can show itself in many ways as I have been learning and reflecting on myself and, also what I know from friends and teammates I have led or been peers with. ADHD leads to challenges with your attention (or lack of), hyper-activeness and impulsiveness (I really have done some impulsive things in my life!!), your ability to regulate your emotions and the other phrase you hear often, “executive function.”

The executive function, or more importantly a lack of, leaves you with challenges with your working memory / short term memory, paying attention, knowing how to plan, prioritise and organise, time-blindness (I swear I had enough time to get there / do that task) and less control of behaviour and emotions.

For me, I am impacted by all of these at varying levels. I have learned and survived by mimicking the habits of people around me, working really hard and for longer hours (to probably do things that shouldn’t take long), I connect and build relationships pretty well (I get excited by meeting and learning from people) and have learned, through no actual design process, how to ask for help or share work that I think I can do (or get really excited by), but somehow knew it would be quicker done by someone else…. And this is all part of the learning curve for me.

What am I good at, where can I use systems, tools, diary blocks, apps and the power of friends and teammates to work through my ideas.

Superpower? It is quite often called a superpower to be neurodivergent and for some people it is, for others it can be a very real challenge!

I am only 2 months into my journey, and I am starting to understand where I can improve, where my challenges are and what a superpower might look like for me…

As with all people under the umbrella of neurodiversity, our lived experiences, our symptoms, our strengths, our careers, our relationships, and our day to day are different and what can be a superpower for me, might very well be making another person’s life painful. 

This week and always, please be thoughtful and patient with everyone you meet. Remember there really is no agreed or single definition of “normal” for how the human brain works and that this umbrella of awesomeness is full of amazing minds…. We just might need your assistance to work through the world around us that perhaps was not constructed directly for us.

I would love to connect with anyone who wants to chat about my post, is on a similar journey or has any insights or tips for me too.

Stay awesome.