Member-only story
Living with neurodiversity
Living with neurodiversity can be extremely challenging. A relief at times but crippling in certain situations. I thought there was something wrong with me throughout my whole life, but my diagnosis felt like a breath of fresh air and a tremendous weight off my shoulders. That’s probably the best part. But the worst part is disclosing to your employer that you’re neurodiverse.
It’s often hard to understand the benefits and drawbacks of disclosing to current and potential employers your neurodiversity. Some employers and colleagues will understand and positively react to your disclosure, and employers are also legally obliged to support you and make reasonable adjustments. However, others and many creative employers fail to make reasonable adjustments to suit the needs of neurodiverse and disabled employees.
A relatively new term, neurodivergence, was established in the 1990s by an Australian sociologist, Judy Singer. On the autism spectrum herself, she coined the term neurodiversity in response to a new movement toward neurological diversity as it finally became recognised, accepted, and respected.
She hoped we would see neurological diversity, not as a defect or a disorder, but simply different.
Roughly 1 in 7 people in the UK are neurodivergent, and the Equality Act 2010 has been designed to protect individuals…
