What is Neurodiversity, and why it is important

Achieving diversity is a goal for most companies operating across various industries, located worldwide. There are many diversity advocates acting every day to achieve this goal, and the goal itself is achievable in many different ways. That being said, not many people are familiar with the term “neurodiversity”, its meaning, importance and impact to the industry, people, and equal opportunities.

I would like to offer a quick introduction to neurodiversity and explain its importance.

Definition

Almost everyone today knows someone who has a family member on the autistic spectrum, a friend with ADHD or other genetic “predispositions”. These are usually treated as a “syndrome”, some kind of “failure”, in some places a “disease” even, and definitely something negative.

The new and science-based way of looking at this is as a result of evolutionary changes. People on the spectrum, with ADHD and other types of differences — are neither a mistake nor a failure. These “conditions” are not a result of an injury, and shouldn’t be treated as such. There is no reason to try and fix them — there isn’t anything to cure. There is an evolutionary purpose and reason for these differences, we just don’t know it yet. That doesn’t mean we should be afraid of it or push it aside.

What we should do instead is make our industry, products and services accessible for these people. We should embrace their differences, and make it comfortable for them to take an active part in the industry as equals. They have always been a part of our society, and there is no reason to treat them as injured or sick, but only as different, and there isn’t anything wrong with being different. They might require different approaches, they may have other preferred ways of communication and they will look at things from a different angle, but that certainly shouldn’t push them out of society, as it does today.

Neurodiversity means understanding that such people are simply different, embracing these differences, and making adaptations to the industry, the surroundings and the way we treat them, instead of trying to “fix” or “cure” them. They do things differently. They will succeed in tasks that 99% of “mainstream” people wouldn’t, and on the other hand they will fail tasks that might seem relatively “easy” for other parts of the population. That doesn’t mean they are not capable.

You wouldn’t expect a coding ninja to be familiar with different kinds of animals living in the Amazonas, and ways of preserving them.

You wouldn’t expect an opera singer to architect and build a hotel.

You shouldn’t expect a person with ADHD to be able to focus on boring, mainstream tasks that do not challenge them the way they challenge other people.

Examples

• Some armies around the world offer positions to people on the autistic spectrum. The position’s responsibilities usually include learning maps and memorising all the tiny details that these maps contain. That data is then used in real-world operations.
• Some cyber security organisations hire such people to create advanced cryptographic algorithms, new ways of encryption and mathematical improvements to existing and commonly used security libraries.
• Some professions that might seem repetitive to most people — are actually quite fascinating and comforting people on the spectrum. Recycling, creating and destroying hardware is just one example. People that otherwise would not fit in the industry — are given an opportunity to thrive when they deal with hardware in their own peace and pace. They are very efficient, they enjoy it, and it benefits the industry.

So why not adopt these changes? Why not embrace such differences? Why not let these people in?

You don’t have to be a manager or in a leading position to bring new ideas to your workplace and try to make your surroundings better not only for you, but for everyone. I urge you and everyone reading this article to learn the subject of diversity & neurodiversity, bring these ideas to the workplace, implement them and run pilots.

Here is a list of organisations dealing with Neurodiversity, as well ass some recommended contents:

• Neurodiversity at Work UK — http://www.acas.org.uk/index.aspx?articleid=5858
• A great piece by the BBC — https://www.bbc.com/news/av/uk-politics-43990429/neurodiversity-disabilities-or-neurological-differences
• https://specialisterneusa.com/ — Neurodiversity in the USA