Neurodiversity is the concept that there are a variety of ways that people’s brains process information, function, and present behaviorally.

Rather than thinking there is something wrong or problematic when some people don’t operate similarly to others, neurodiversity embraces all differences.

Neurodiversity can be broken down into two categories of people: those who are neurotypical and those who are neurodivergent.

Neurotypical: people may have no idea they are because the subject has likely never come up for them before.

These people usually hit all of their developmental and behavioral milestones at the same times and ages that are considered standard for most people.

Once grown, they generally move through life without having to wonder if their brains function in the same way as others do.

Neurodivergent: Neurodivergence is the term for people whose brains function differently in one or more ways than is considered standard or typical.

There are many different ways that neurodivergence manifests, ranging from very mild ways that most people would never notice to more obvious ways that lead to a person behaving differently than is standard in our society.

While originally used to refer specifically to people who are autistic, usage of the term has broadened significantly in years since.

Neurodivergence now refers to any structured, consistent way that brains work differently for a group of people than they do for the majority of others.

Because the idea of neurodivergence has grown to encompass a range of consistent ways that some brains work differently than others, it shouldn’t be surprising to learn that there are many different ways neurodivergence manifests.

Autism: Autism is known as a “Spectrum disorder” because autistic people range in what autistic traits they have, how these traits present, and their support needs.

Autism is a broad set of conditions that may include challenges with socializing and social skills, repetitive behaviors, and speech difficulties that can lead people to communicate via Alternative Augmentative Communication, writing, typing, or sign language instead of verbally.

According to the Autism Self-Advocacy Network, autistic people generally think, process their senses, move, communicate, and socialize in a consistent range of ways that differ from how allistic, non-autistic, people do.

People with ADHD may have difficulty with organization, be restless, seem disinterested or zoned out, and show inappropriate behavior when experiencing strong emotions.

Thanks to their out-of-the-box thinking, people with ADHD are often great problem solvers, may be energetic and “Fun,” and are often sensitive to others.

People with Dyslexia are often big picture thinkers who excel at visual processing.

Other Types Other types of Neurodivergence include Tourette’s, dyspraxia, synesthesia, dyscalculia, Down syndrome, epilepsy, and chronic mental health illnesses such as bipolar disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, borderline personality disorder, anxiety, and depression.

On the other hand, if you have never been formally diagnosed but resonate strongly with the descriptors for one or more types of neurodivergence, you might benefit from seeking a professional to find out for sure.

You can learn more about both the DSM description of the condition and the lived experiences of people with that presentation of neurodivergence.

Self-diagnosis is a valid form of identification, and is often the only accessible diagnostic avenue for many marginalized people.

While neurodivergence is common, many people do not realize they are neurodivergent until they reach adulthood.

This can create challenges as people find ways to adapt to the differences in how they think and process information, but it can also be helpful.

How Common Is Being Neurodivergent? The exact number of people who are neurodivergent is not known, but looking at the prevalence of conditions linked to neurodiversity can indicate how common it may be.

People are individual and unique; in the same way that it doesn’t feel the same for all people to have bodies, it doesn’t feel the same for all people with different neurodivergent diagnoses.

Life is experienced differently by all humans, whether their brains function very similarly to the majority of people, or very different.

Nonfiction books about neurodivergence and the future of neurodiversity include “NeuroTribes,” “Neurodiversity: Discovering the Extraordinary Gifts of Autism, ADHD, Dyslexia and Other Brain Differences,” and “Divergent Mind.”.

If you’d like to diversify your social media feed with neurodivergent voices and advocates, some top choices to follow are Neurodivergent Activist, Nurturing Neurodiversity, Paige Layle, and The Chronic Couple.

As society shifts its understanding of how the brain operates, the way in which we treat those who are neurodivergent will also change.

Special education is making progress in this arena as well, with approaches becoming centered around how people with assorted neurodivergent tendencies learn best.

Advocacy for neurodiversity acceptance may have begun with autism and how it is managed, but it has grown to include the many different neurodivergent types.

The more we accept, affirm, and understand that it’s quite common for brains to work differently, the more easily we can go about accommodating people in ways that work best for them to learn, function, and thrive in society.

Culled