Neurodiversity Makes the Workplace Better

I’m going to start this post by unashamedly saying, ‘I’m a smart cookie with a formidable mind that I’ve been told can be intimidating!’

I’m not going to lie, that felt uncomfortable to type.

It felt uncomfortable for 2 reasons. The first being that as a woman we’re conditioned to not be ‘arrogant’ and to not brag. I know many men are conditioned by their circumstances to feel like that too, but it’s more widely engrained in our society that women who put themselves forward in this way are ‘not likeable’ in some way. Immediately there will be some who assume the word ‘intimidating’ means I have an unpleasant personality, but it’s meant as it’s written, the speed at which my brain can identify problems, join disparate concepts, and come up with solutions, is seen by some (I've been told) as intimidating.

My personality is actually adorable ;)

This brings me to the second reason which is more uncomfortable for me because my brain has been a gift and a challenge at the same time. I’ve struggled my entire life because I think differently, and I’ve always felt a few seconds out of step with everyone else. My quirks about food textures, certain noises, and hypersensitivity to smells has labelled me with friends as a (still adorable) odd duck. My insomnia has meant that since I was a child I could never sleep more than 4-5 hours a night, sometimes going months on only 3 hrs a night. I hyper-fixate on subjects that mean I can talk to you in reasonable depth about archaeology, classics, quantum physics, psychology, global business models, data privacy, human rights, and marketing to name a few. I have skills as a potter, painter, writer, and filmmaker. I have friends all over the world who I talk to about their local politics and history. My mind needs to be consuming constantly or the noise inside my head becomes unbearable.

Some of you may have guessed by now that I’m neurodiverse and have ADHD.

So, the sentence at the start of this post was true, but also feels like a lie because I know how hard it's been to keep my mind entertained. I also know that until a few years ago I was undiagnosed and thought that my mind was broken in some way because of it. It created a lot of anxiety trying to mask my idiosyncrasies. We didn’t have the same awareness of neurodiversity throughout my career, and we certainly weren’t encouraged to talk about it. No matter how good you were at your job, how effective you were at delivering positive change, how much money you brought into a business… to admit you weren’t ‘normal’ implied you were a risk in some way.

The Proof is in the Deliverables

We already know that gender and ethnic diversity increases innovation revenue by around 19% and  overall financial performance by 25-36% . Now with current global development, especially in the advent of new technologies like AI, companies are starting to acknowledge that they require neurodivergence in the workforce. These are the brains that adapt quickly to new ideas, think outside the box, bring together those diverse concepts across multiple disciplines, and embrace solutions rather than get caught in problems. People with ADHD can thrive in environments like start-ups as ‘they work well under pressure, tend to be very proactive and are better at adjusting to change’ and there are great examples of people with autism spectrum disorder thriving in the software development and testing space.

However, these impressive results can only be harnessed when companies put in effective DEI frameworks that treat each employee as an individual with individual needs. If companies want to grow in these changing times, they need to embrace diversity and support education that removes the still-remaining stigma that can be associated with neurodiversity.

Why Say This Now?

Recent reports in the press stating that Autism Spectrum Disorder can be 'reversed' has raised much concern amongst advocate groups such as the UKs National Autism Society who have described the claims as "deeply insulting to the more than 700,000 autistic people in the UK". The results are based on a limited study by the University of Maryland of a single set of twins using, according to the organisation, "interventions that are themselves questionable." In their post on Twitter/X they went on to say, "There are absolutely no conclusions at all that can be drawn from this and to suggest otherwise is just irresponsible journalism".

I won't pretend I have read the study paper, or that I intend to. If there is merit in improving some limiting characteristics of Autism Spectrum Disorder through interventions, I will let more knowledgeable groups than myself debate those pros and cons. I myself now take medication to help manage some of the more difficult aspects of my ADHD. But what works for me will not necessarily work for others and if the medication had the side effect of changing the originality of my thoughts I wouldn't take it. That said, the issue with this study in my mind is the way it's being sold in the press. Like neurodiversity is something to be 'fixed'.

We do not need to be fixed!

Our differences do not need to be eradicated like they hold no value and we do not need to create a world where everyone thinks, acts, lives, loves, and learns in the same way. We, as responsible journalists and content producers, need to be aware of the language we use when presenting new discussions to the mainstream. We need to remember that most people will only read the headline or the short article, and not go on to review the study paper and critique the findings for themselves. As we have discussed in other posts, the commercial drivers to create clickbait commentary is damaging to our society, more often focusing negative and inflammatory ideas on minorities less able to defend themselves.

We need to be better than this.

Neurodiversity Brings Empathy, Creativity, and Innovation

And so I’m writing this post to highlight to anyone else who might be struggling because they feel different, just how much of a gift my neurodiverse brain has been over the years. It’s allowed me to design and deliver changes that others couldn’t even imagine. It’s also made me more compassionate to my teams because I understand life isn’t a simple path without potholes, and we need to listen carefully to one another so people don’t get lost along the way. It has also made me a strong diversity, equity and inclusion champion who embraces unique perspectives in diverse teams, which in turn has meant we’ve delivered more effective business transformations.

From One Neuro-Spicy 'Odd Duck' to Another

So for those of you who sometimes feel less-than because we currently live in a world set up for the neurotypical majority please know that, despite what you sometimes see in the press, things are changing. You have always had a place but now others are starting to realise it. With only 15-20% of the global population estimated as being neurodiverse we’re a valuable and rare breed. It's believed that Albert Einstein, Charles Darwin, and Isaac Newton were all neurodiverse, and modern business successes such as Richard Branson, Steven Spielberg, and Elon Musk have all been open about their neurodiverse minds. As the world evolves into a technological landscape that needs innovative and creative thought patterns with incredible ability to see the small stuff in the complexity, you are going to thrive.

And don’t let anyone tell you otherwise!

D x