Where diversity is valued and respected, society can experience health, enrichment and growth
Life is all about balance. Some of the good stuff, connection, nourishment, joy promotes positive wellbeing and a bit of the bad stuff, challenge, adversity enables us to develop resilience. We don’t want too much adversity but we need some. A bit of both provides balance.
If you are neurodivergent, it may be that you have a higher degree of adversity. Sensory challenges, social interactions, difficulties concentrating on or transitioning away from a task, rigid thinking, judgement from others; all these things can contribute to an imbalanced and adverse load on a person’s wellbeing.
Could your balance be off?
If this is you, you may be wondering what the answer is to this problem? Changing the world can seem impossible. But without improved balance, wellbeing deteriorates. We all deserve to feel ok, some days better than others for sure, but ok is important, wellbeing matters.
If you are struggling with the reality, I don’t mean to be all ‘rose coloured glasses’ about this. It can be really tough at times, I don’t disregard that. It’s not all sunshine and rainbows and I hope that you are able to find support and advocate for your needs regardless of your position within the Neurodiversity picture.
But also lets take a moment to celebrate the richness of ADHD/Autistic life as well as other neurodivergences too. Creative abilities, innovative thinkers, the high-attention-to-detailers, the perceptiveness and intuitiveness of an empath.
That hyperfocus? Excellent research and problem-solving capabilities
Comfort with rules and routine? Reliability, trust, a job well done
Difficulties with social interactions? Sincerity, honesty, authenticity
Other skills such as persistence, excellent memory, concentration, observation and motivation mean that many people achieve great things as engineers and entrepreneurs. Find the thing you enjoy and invariably you may have found the thing you will excel at.
So, when society’s narrative is often about what’s wrong, let’s recognise the imbalance and remember to celebrate the benefits of our unique neuro-identities.
In a world where neurodiversity is prioritised, understood and supported, everyone and every community gets the opportunity to thrive.