Mental health recovery concept as old trees recovering as a neurology or psychology and psychiatry ... [+]
This week has been Neurodiversity Celebration Week, the event started in 2018 by Autistic Advocate Siena Castellon to raise awareness in schools, which has now gone global with events all across the world, in work as well has education, powered by the team at Lexxic. The project began because so many neurodivergent people are excluded from education and traumatised by the experience. As well as working on making education system more neuroinclusive, we need to consider the healing power of work. Healthy work, in neuroinclusive companies, has the power to recover self-esteem and belonging. Neurodiversity Celebration Week is about the whole life span – we need to simultaneously highlight where it goes wrong for neurodivergent people and signpost recovery. School is often where it goes wrong. Work, developing a career and a professional identity can be a great path to recovery.
Education and Trauma
Trauma and neurodivergence overlap for several reasons, particularly for those diagnosed in adulthood. Firstly, sensory sensitivities tend to be disbelieved, and many are told to “stop being so sensitive.” This can lead to a childhood of trying to suppress pain and discomfort in order to be a “good girl/boy.” Secondly, difficulties in education can lead to severe ostracism and exclusion. Some neurodivergent people experience mutism due to the trauma. And lastly, sadly, our cognitive difficulties with social communication, risk filters and overwhelms can leave us more vulnerable to actual attacks and bullying. The fundamental issue is that education requires consistent application of all the things neurominorities struggle with – literacy, numeracy, sitting still, manual dexterity and/or concentrating in loud busy environments. Even without adverse childhood experiences, we emerge slightly battered, wondering what our place in the world might be.
Specialist Roles
For those who are reasonably well resourced, our first job can be a revelation. We might find ourselves in a role that plays to our strengths but minimizes our challenges. For example, a dyslexic or ADHDer with strong visual and mechanical skills could find themselves in hairdressing, care work, media, construction, engineering, warehouse logistics. In these roles, a minimal requirement for sitting still or literacy can be liberating. Suddenly finding our neurotype valuable, a good job can make all the difference, we can start to rebuild our self-esteem, build back ambition. Neurodivergent people make excellent entrepreneurs, once a trade has been established, many go on to start their own companies. Dr Logan of the Cass Business School found that 35% of entrepreneurs were dyslexic compared to 1% of corporate managers, against 10% in the general population. Adults with learning disabilities such as Down's Syndrome make valuable employees, and thrive psychologically when in work. They are known to increase a sense of well-being and company engagement across colleagues, as well as being reliable, consistent and happy at work. This can be huge for a demographic less likely to be employed than any one else, with severe impacts to life expectancy and health.
Trauma Recovery
Making work a positive experience for neurodivergent people isn’t just about harnessing talent or maximizing profits. It’s also about social justice and recovery. Humans naturally gravitate towards being in groups and belonging to a social network; it is a myth that neurodivergent people prefer their own company. Many are lonely, just overwhelmed by sensory sensitivity and communication complexity. Businesses who are out there doing the work to move beyond awareness training and developing neurodiversity affirming HR protocols and management are doing great things for our community. As neurodiversity engagement becomes as equally widespread as mental health awareness, the two begin to overlap. When businesses focus on wellbeing, when we work in psychological safety, we can become less defensive, less hypervigilant, less reactive. This includes neurodivergent people, who thrive in the right job, with the right colleagues. Trauma changes the brain, but so does healing.
