Here's What I Know: Neurodiversity

Learning new things, pulls threads together to weave something new: Awareness and understanding.

Take neurodiversity for example. 

When I was young, at kinder and school, there were kids with behaviour that was different from mine. 

They were often in trouble, and were labeled “disruptive”. 

I remember my mum telling me a story.

At drop off one morning, she had to chase one of the other kinder kids down a busy main road. He had escaped and was having a fabulous adventure all on his own, until my mum caught up with him and brought him safely back. 

That child was often in trouble, and there was always a story to go with the day.

Back then, there wasn’t language to explain this. No diagnosis and no education. And if there was, it was likely kept on the down-low and not discussed openly. 

Over time, that has thankfully changed.

Being a parent has given me that rare opportunity to make new adult friends.

I now have several beautiful friends who are parenting neurodiverse children and I feel grateful that I understand so much more as a result.

The journeys they are on, and the conversations that we have, are wide and varied.

From listening to them talk about the hours they spend trying to sort out NDIS, to ferrying kids between OT’s, psychologists and speech therapists, doing everything they can to support their kids, it really is a journey. An emotionally draining one.

Then there is school. Some schools are set up beautifully to support an entire range of children with different brains and others really struggle.

When schools are not set up to support the individual needs of the child, this has an impact on the child, which of course then ripples across the entire family. 

I’ve heard all the arguments from my friends in teaching about how challenging it can be to support the needs of one particular child, whilst there is a classroom of 25.

How difficult it can be to manage the disruptions, whilst trying to keep control of the class.

I am not arguing with that. 

Here is what I have learned as an outsider though.

There are small things that can be done to make it a better experience for everyone.

Here is one example: 

Where there is a plan in place for the child with special needs, this needs to be communicated to ALL teachers. 

Not just set and forget and buried in a drawer somewhere. 

And it needs to be shared every time a new teacher joins.

It needs to be regularly reviewed and adjustments made, not in a punitive way, but in a supportive way with two way communication between the school, the child and the family. 

This is not about compliance. This is about care.

Fast forward to the workplace. My passion is partnering with workplaces to become more supportive, safer places for people to work. 

After seeing the struggles my parent friends had with schools, I decided to incorporate neurodiversity training into what I offer for workplaces. 

Because when there is education, there is awareness. When there is awareness, there is the potential for change, better understanding and more inclusion.

Stigma, misunderstanding and misinformation will continue to exist, if we don’t educate people. If we don’t seek to understand.

In your workplace: 

• There are employees who are neurodivergent, whether they have disclosed it  or not. 

• There are parents who are trying to find the right support for their children, and they are exhausted from it.

• There are women moving through their menopause chapter, who are realising that they have been masking for years, and are seeking a diagnosis for the first time. 

Here’s the thing. No two brains are the same. 

The mainstream school system and the workplace is designed for the majority. 

Broad brushstrokes that “should” work for all. 

But sometimes those broad brushstrokes are too broad, and we need to zoom in to the individual to really get the best from the beautifully diverse workforce that we have.

It doesn’t take a lot. Understanding, awareness, building on strengths and supporting areas that need it.

There are so many micro-adjustments that can be put in place that will benefit EVERYONE in your organisation. 

Let me give you an example.

If there is a commitment to sending out agendas and minutes for EVERY meeting, this benefits everyone. 

Here’s who it benefits:

• People who process information differently, and like to reflect on what was discussed. 

• People experiencing brain fog, and momentary concentration lapses. 

• People who are sleep deprived. 

• People who are neurodivergent and learn better when things are documented.

• People who are struggling with their mental health and the list goes on.

One simple adjustment. Many benefits.

I was a leader for many years in the corporate world. Knowing what I know now, I would have different conversations with my people.

This is not about mollycoddling people. 

This is about: 

• Helping people to feel psychologically safe, and well supported. 

• Reducing stress for people by ensuring they feel safe enough to be themselves. 

• Reaping the benefits that come from having a diverse workforce.

• Weaving that wonderful tapestry of different threads in our workplace together.

I invite you to think about how you can make your own workplace more inclusive and the micro-adjustments that you can make that will benefit everyone. 

If you would like to learn more about how neurodiversity training can benefit your workplace, then I am here to support you.

If you would like to book sometime to speak with me, click on the link below:

https://calendar.app.google/gga7uQogCgUdAQaJ8