<div class="fr-view"><p>Next week is <a href="https://www.neurodiversityweek.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Neurodiversity Celebration Week</a> (21 &#8211; 27 March 2022)! You may have heard the terms ‘Neurodiverse’ and ‘Neurotypical’ used before, but do you know what they mean &#8211; or which you are?</p>
<p>Many people think Neurodiversity refers to people with an <a href="https://www.autism.org.uk/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Autism Spectrum Disorder</a> (ASD), or that it includes people with <a href="https://www.adhdfoundation.org.uk/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder</a> (ADHD), but there are actually lots of conditions that fit under this umbrella.</p>
<h5>So what does Neurodiversity really mean?</h5>
<p><img class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-38280" src="https://thehootstudents.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/pexels-paul-voie-2627945-200x300.jpg" alt="Clouds at sunset." width="200" height="300" /></p>
<p>The term was first used in 1998 by sociologist <a href="https://mobile.twitter.com/singer_judy" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Judy Singer</a>, when writing her sociology honours thesis. She was corresponding with the American journalist Harvey Blume, who went on to use it in an <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/1998/09/neurodiversity/305909/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">article</a> in The Atlantic that same year, which discussed the rise of autism advocacy on the internet and the possible superiority of Neurodiverse brains. The term caught on quickly, resonating especially with the disability advocacy movement and those who were looking for a positive model for <a href="https://www.autism-alliance.org.uk/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">autism awareness</a>. Internet forums, online organisations and awareness began to spread greater understanding, and Neurodiversity became the banner under which people with all kinds of neurological processing disorders saw they could advocate for recognition of both their disabilities <em>and</em> their abilities.</p>
<p>Neurodiversity recognises that other people have brains that function differently to our own, or to what is accepted as the expected, or ‘Neurotypical’ way. This includes people with <a href="https://www.ambitiousaboutautism.org.uk/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">ASD</a> and <a href="https://www.additudemag.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">ADHD</a>, and also <a href="https://dyspraxiafoundation.org.uk/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Dyspraxia</a>, <a href="https://www.bdadyslexia.org.uk/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Dyslexia</a>, <a href="https://www.bdadyslexia.org.uk/dyslexia/neurodiversity-and-co-occurring-differences/dyscalculia-and-maths-difficulties" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Dyscalculia</a>, <a href="https://www.hft.org.uk/resources-and-guidance/learning-difficulties-and-other-needs/dysgraphia/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Dysgraphia</a> and <a href="https://www.wise-geek.com/in-neuropsychology-what-is-dysnomia.htm" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Dysnomia</a>. Then there are Sensory Processing Disorders, including <a href="https://www.additudemag.com/what-is-auditory-processing-disorder/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Auditory Processing Disorder</a> (APD), <a href="https://www.orthoptics.org.uk/resources/clinical-advisory-group/visual-processing-difficulties-clinical-advisory-group/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Visual Processing Disorder</a> (VPD) and <a href="https://dldandme.org/">Developmental Language Disorder</a> (DLD). There is <a href="https://www.tinnitus.org.uk/hyperacusis">Hyperacusis</a>, <a href="http://www.misophonia-uk.org/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Misophonia</a>, <a href="https://www.verywellfamily.com/hyperlexia-signs-diagnosis-and-treatment-5206172" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Hyperlexia</a> and <a href="https://irlen.com/what-is-irlen-syndrome/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Meares-Irlen Syndrome</a>. <a href="https://thepsychologist.bps.org.uk/volume-28/february-2015/surprising-world-synaesthesia" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Synaesthesia</a>, <a href="https://www.ocduk.org/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">OCD</a>and <a href="https://www.tourettes-action.org.uk/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Tourette’s Syndrome</a> (including other Tic Disorders) are also often included within Neurodiversity, and many of these conditions often co-exist, or exist alongside conditions such as <a href="https://www.versusarthritis.org/about-arthritis/conditions/fibromyalgia/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Fibromyalgia</a>, <a href="https://www.actionforme.org.uk/get-information/what-is-me/what-does-me-feel-like/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">ME/CFS</a>, <a href="https://migrainetrust.org/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Migraine</a>, <a href="https://www.mind.org.uk/information-support/types-of-mental-health-problems/anxiety-and-panic-attacks/anxiety-disorders/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Generalized Anxiety Disorder</a>, <a href="https://www.mind.org.uk/information-support/types-of-mental-health-problems/post-traumatic-stress-disorder-ptsd-and-complex-ptsd/complex-ptsd/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">CPTSD</a>, <a href="https://www.ehlers-danlos.com/2017-eds-classification-non-experts/hypermobile-ehlers-danlos-syndrome-clinical-description-natural-history/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">hEDS</a> and diseases affecting the immune system.</p>
<p>Neurodiversity considers these conditions different, not damaged, ways of processing information &#8211; but does that stop them being disabilities? Not in a world set up for Neurotypical people, no! But these are not diseases or conditions to be cured, they are disorders that others should accept, and make accommodations for. If you’re Neurotypical, your awareness of and <a href="https://guidetoallyship.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">allyship</a> for Neurodiversity can help make a better world for everyone.</p>
<h5>How can we celebrate and accomodate for Neurodiversity?</h5>
<p>Think about what will make a better environment for the people you see getting left out, so they can take part in activities and social events without feeling excluded or anxious. If they don’t want to participate, that’s fine too, of course. It’s never a reason not to keep inviting someone to join in or come along. Or maybe there are other events or types of activities they might like to do with you? Just hanging out and binge watching tv series and eating snacks is also great. Soft snacks, in a dark room, with the sound down and the subtitles on, wrapped in fluffy blankets. You may find a different way to look at the world and appreciate how you process sensory input yourself.</p>
<p>Or perhaps, you’ve just realised that there’s a name for how you think, and you’re not alone after all? There are groups and resources out there, including the <a href="https://help.open.ac.uk/contacts-for-disability-support" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">OU Disability Support Team</a>. Find out how you can find help, and unlock your strengths along with finding the support on offer.</p>
<p>None of us can know how unique our consciousness is, until we try to <a href="https://junkee.com/aphantasia-apple-visualisation/241587" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">understand someone else’s</a>. How we think, and how our brains interpret the world around us, is part of who we are. It’s easy to assume everyone else sees the<a href="http://www.danieltammet.net/blue-day.php" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">same shade of blue</a>, thinks in a <a href="https://nypost.com/2020/02/05/scientists-explain-the-viral-internal-narrative-phenomenon/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">constant narrative flow</a>, or can <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thinking_in_Pictures" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">visualise objects</a> in their imagination as detailed 3D solids that they can take apart or bring to life. Instead, we live in a world of people with <a href="https://www.faceblind.org/research/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">face blindness</a>, <a href="https://aphantasia.com/what-is-aphantasia/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">no visual memory</a>, or a <a href="https://www.independent.ie/entertainment/music/i-have-some-form-of-synaesthesia-i-always-have-music-in-my-head-nile-rodgers-37245878.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">constant musical soundtrack</a> to their lives.</p>
<p>There are new ways of processing our environment being found all the time, and there is no reason to let any of them be a handicap. Autistic people are finding success in a society that accepts them for who they are, and nurtures the talents they have, rather than trying to repress their ‘non-typical’ behaviours. Dyslexia is now spotted early in children’s schooling, and can often come with skills in spatial awareness. Tourette’s and OCD are seen beyond their stereotypes, as unique insights into how the brain functions, and people with hyperacusis and Meares-Irlen can be helped to deal with their external environment.</p>
<p>Today, <a href="https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/observations/clearing-up-some-misconceptions-about-neurodiversity/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Neurodiversity</a> really is something worth celebrating!</p>
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<p>If you consider yourself neurodiverse, you may like to join the Students Association&#8217;s <a href="https://www.oustudents.com/organisation/6242/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Neurodiversity Club</a> or <a href="https://www.oustudents.com/get-involved/support-groups/disabled-students-group/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Disabled Students Group.</a></p>
<p><img class="fr-dib alignnone wp-image-10943" src="https://i0.wp.com/thehootstudents.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/1647254715077.png?w=1160&;ssl=1" alt="The letters 'OU' with a colourful brain inside the 'O'." width="500" height="500" data-id="10943" data-recalc-dims="1" /></p>
<p>The writer of this article is proudly part of the ASD, Dyspraxic, APD, Hyperacusic and Hyperlexic communities.</p>
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What is neurodiversity and why do we celebrate it?
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