Neurodiversity: I see the challenges, but I choose to see ability

As someone who is neurodivergent, I bring a different perspective, one that’s shaped by both challenges and strengths, not only at work, but in day-to-day life as well.  

Diagnosed dyslexic at the age of sixteen combined with adult ADHD traits; I’m ‘neurospicy’.

The path I navigate through the world is different, it’s sometimes uphill, often unpaved, but always uniquely mine. Every day I see challenges and I feel them; the social expectations I don’t always intuitively grasp, the environments that are not designed for the way my brain operates. There are times I just need to ‘retain what I’ve just been told’, or ‘focus on that one important thing’, or ‘act normal’, or ‘not blurt out that thought out loud’, or ‘read that document without getting lost’. All battles I am fighting every day in the background, sometimes masking as I go. 

However, I refuse to see myself as broken. I am not a malfunctioning version of ‘normal’. What is normal anyway? Being neurodivergent means, I am wired differently and with that difference comes power.  

Some may see distraction, I see it as a mind that never stops exploring, connecting, innovating and sometimes all of them at once! Others may see anxiety, I see deep sensitivity and empathy. When it could be called obsession, I call it passion. An ability to dive deep, to master, to care about the small details that often get overlooked and remain unnoticed. My brain may not follow the straight and narrow path, but it will build bridges others don’t realise are possible.  

We can create positive changes

The world has changed, in some ways it is more inclusive than before, in some ways it has added many more daily challenges. Such as the speed and variety of communications mediums, digital media, new social expectations and the distractions they bring. There are many parts of the day-to-day that are not necessarily compatible with the way I am wired.  

However, the world now is more open to people operating differently, especially in a workplace, but that’s only the start. Neurodiversity covers a wide spectrum and there is no one size fits all solution.  

‘Divergent’ community

One of our Cundall communities ‘Divergent’ was started to spread awareness, provide support, understand needs, promote positive change and help create places where everyone can thrive.  

The community is open to all, those that are neurodiverse and those that would like to learn more about different ways of working. In my role as the co-chair of ‘Divergent’, I’m committed to supporting meaningful conversations and helping build a culture where all kinds of minds can thrive.

So far as a community we have introduced ‘access to work’ initiative that provides support and resources for adjustments, such as noise cancelling headphones and electronic notebooks. We share different coping hacks within the community and organise webinars with internal and external speakers to raise our collective knowledge and understanding of neurodiversity.

I’m especially proud of the neurodiversity training sessions for line managers that we run to raise awareness of how to manage inclusive and effective teams. Changes that may seem small, such as quiet focus areas, can make a difference to wellbeing and productivity to everyone.

I am who I am

I’ve stopped apologising for the way I think or my perceived limitations. Instead, I’ve started owning them. I am not my diagnosis, I am my creativity, my insight, my resilience, my empathy. I am not here to meet someone else’s definition of ability. I am here to live fully, love fiercely, and create boldly because of how I’m wired and not in spite of it.

Speaking about neurodiversity opens more conversations. Others who may have not been comfortable talking about it feel seen, others who may not have recognised that people can think and feel differently, broaden their view. Raising awareness is important, even if that means stepping outside of the comfort zone and speaking up. Change is perpetual, we can just try and adapt or choose to shape the future, so it works for all of us.  

So yes, I see and feel the challenges. But I choose, every day, to focus on what I can do. On what I am. On the abilities that are mine.  

And that will always be enough.