Neuro-diversity for neuro-typicals - from old blog

“Look at me!”

“Do you ever talk about anything else?”

“Stop daydreaming and get on with it!”

“You look normal, there’s nothing wrong with you.  The only reason you can’t read is ‘cos you’re stupid!”

“You’re lazy”

“You’re a retard”

These things were said to me on almost a daily basis in school, by students, support staff, and teachers.  Sometimes, even my own mother would say things like this, and after a while, you start to agree with the derogatory comments, you start to think you are stupid, and useless, and that you will never amount to anything.  Yet up to 10% of people are different, and can appear as I, and many other people do.  We are neuro-diverse. 

We are not stupid.  We are not lazy.  We are not intentionally being rude or annoying, we just don’t understand.

The best description of neuro-diversity I have ever found is on the DANDA website, linked below.  It says that neuro-typical (normal) people have abilities spread evenly across most skills that a person is likely to encounter, where as neuro-diverse people have areas of extreme talent, and areas of greater difficulty.  We are just as intelligent as anyone else, and in many cases more so. 

We thrive if allowed to work in our own way.  Many of us will struggle through the standardised academic education that virtually all children in the UK and US are forced through (and I’m sure it’s the same in most developed countries), then as soon as we are allowed to choose our subjects (often vocational) or get allowed to work in our own ways in normal classroom subjects, we may quickly become the top of the class. 

Neuro-diverse conditions include dyslexia, dyspraxia/DCD, autism spectrum disorders including Asperger’s syndrome, ADHD, sensory processing disorders, dyscalculia, and tourettes.   Some people are neuro-diverse without a specific diagnosis.  Each of these conditions is closely related to the other conditions on this list, and many people think that they are simply slightly different presentations of the same disorder.  Many other people think they are not disorders at all, simply differences from ‘normal’ and the only reason they are considered disorders/disabilities is that the modern western world on the whole is very unaccepting of differences. 

Each condition has its own description, and each has a list of signs and symptoms, but they all have overlap, and commonly have effects on concentration, memory, organisation, time direction, sequencing, sensory perception, social skills and estimation (of time, size, position, speed ect).   These are not always negative, for example, many autistic people can remember things in great detail, and many neuro-diverse people can concentrate very deeply on one thing for long periods of time, and many neuro-diverse people (most often dyslexics) have excellent skills with people and may be very persuasive or charismatic. 

There are more ways people adapt than there are specific traits of the various conditions, so there are far too many to list here, but some common ones are practicing the skills that do not come naturally, it takes more practice, but if a neuro-typical can do it, so can we, but we may need to practice longer if it is one of our less talented areas.  We may choose household items , paper, pens, and larger things like houses and cars that are more suitable for us as individuals, for example a lot of dyspraxics prefer larger or shaped pens, and stronger mugs and glasses for their home, many people with sensory processing or personal space issues may choose not to live in a large city, people may choose clothes that are more comfortable (or have lots of pockets), rather than look good , and often choose cars which are automatic rather than adding in the additional complexities of a manual.  We may choose to stay home and work on something of interest to us than go out drinking with friends, and we may go shopping at quieter times to avoid being in crowds.  This is not to say we cannot adapt to being in a crowd, but we prefer quieter places, and would chose them if available.  Many of us also prefer to find jobs and hobbies that fall within our areas of talent, so we can make use of the positive sides of our conditions. 

We are almost invariably very determined individuals, and are willing to work hard to attain a goal. 

There is nothing a neuro-typical can do that we cannot do, but we may not be interested in learning some skills, or we may be happy to stay as we are.  We will always be different, even if we learn to pass ourselves off as normal when with others; we will always have our own characters and talents. 

These conditions defiantly have advantages to.  We have the talents that vary between individuals, we are also extremely creative, we have learned to adapt, and we can provide a fresh viewpoint to an old or existing problem.   Most neuro diverse people are very compassionate, even if we don’t show it in the ‘normal’ way.   Many dyslexics do extremely well in architecture because they can think creatively, and can often visualise shapes in 3D, fit them together, and come up with amazing designs, the reduced reading ability is nothing compared to the advantages dyslexia has in architecture.  The compassion and understanding of what it is like to be different many neuro-diverse people have leads them into helping others, for example in care homes or hospitals, and many will work hard to become nurses, or therapists.

Those of us who choose to go into academic work often become highly specialised, as our interests are often narrow, but very deep.  We may take on more physical training and employment, for example plumbing, joinery, bricklaying, animal care or gardening.  I know many people in ‘white collar’ professions look down on these trades, but they are as essential as most of these white collar professions, and in some cases more so.  How many of these white collar office workers can maintain their own homes without calling someone in?  Very few I think.  And that says nothing about building the homes to start with.  Neuro-diverse people are often very talented in their area of work, no matter what that is, be it a physical or building trade, be it an academic subject, or be it in a care profession. 

What do we want from the ‘normal’ population?  That our differences be accepted, that we are allowed to adapt, and that we are treated with the same respect as everyone else. 

There are people out there who assume that different equals useless, but this is not so, and those who think like that are missing out on a lot of advantages. 

Some people have done very well for themselves with neuro-diversity. 

Duncan Bannatyne, the entrepreneur made famous by dragons den is dyslexic, and left school with no GCSEs, yet now has a successful business empire, and has written 4 books. 
David bailey, the famous photographer is dyspraxic. 

Satoshi Tajiri, the creator of Pokémon has Asperger’s syndrome, and managed to turn his interest in bugs and computers into a game that spread around the world. 

These people are proof that we can achieve as well as any other person.  We are variable, and unusual, but that is not wrong.  We are brilliant at many things, and these vary from person to person, but we can use these talents to great ends.  These conditions remain throughout our lives, but so do the benefits they bring.  All we ask from anyone, is the opportunity to be ourselves, and to make use of our talents, and not to be ridicules becase of our difficulties. 

We are different, not useless.

We are different, not stupid.

We are different, not rude.

We are different, let us be us.