What is Neurodiversity?
Neurodiversity describes the natural, unique ways in which all of our brains develop.
It is a term that argues that everyone’s brains are varied by nature; that there is no one ‘normal’ way of thinking, learning, communicating, processing information, or behaving; and that small, biological differences, deeply shaped by the unique context of each individual’s life, are simply parts of a whole that form to create our diverse and interesting world.
Any developmental path that deviates from what is understood as ‘typical’, is described as neurodivergent. Neurodivergent identities include autism, ADHD, dyslexia, dyspraxia, dyscalculia, OCD, Tourette’s Syndrome, and many others.
The most recent research predicts that between 15-20% of the UK are neurodivergent – that’s over 13 million people in the UK, and 1.6 billion people worldwide.
For you and your team, that means that 1 in 6 job applicants, existing staff, clients and audience are likely neurodivergent in some way.
"
People meet me with pre-loaded conceptions of who I am as a Black woman, before they even get to my autism. I am constantly battling to make sure that I’m soft enough, not too intimidating, not too loud, not too weird. I don’t fit in in so many different ways.
– survey respondent
A note on: Disability
There are conflicting opinions amongst the neurodivergent population about whether they consider themselves ‘disabled’ or not. Some do not identify and feel stigmatised by the label, others find it useful, and some call for those uncomfortable with identifying as such to consider why they feel so.
It is a complex and polarising discussion - of those we surveyed, for example, 60.3% considered their neurodivergence a disability, 14.7% did not, and 25% were not sure.
Regardless of whether an individual considers themselves disabled or not, neurodivergences are likely to be protected under The Equality Act (2010), which describes disability as a ‘physical or mental impairment that has a substantial and long term adverse effect’ on a person’s ‘ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities’.
This provides us with legal protection against discrimination, harassment, and victimisation that relates to their condition.
A note on: Intersectionality
Intersectionality refers to the way in which two or more aspects of someone’s identity interplay or overlap with one another.
That is, they way in which someone experiences neurodivergence is also dependent on their gender, ethnicity, age, sexual orientation, and socio-economic background.
Ideas about what neurodivergence ‘looks like’ that do not consider intersectionality mean that, for example, women and ethnic minorities are disadvantaged in accessing diagnoses and clinical support, as well as face misconceptions and negative attitudes.
