Should neurodiverse individuals change themselves to conform to mainstream society? The
answer is simply, not. Studies have found that the genes that contribute to neurodiversity, such
as the DRD4 gene found in ADHD, have been around for tens of thousands of years
(Maceachron, 2021). This fact points to the idea that neurodiversity does not point to a
disability, but a mutated ability that has stood the test of time - natural selection.
Neurodiversity can be linked to heightened creativity, systematic understanding, and memory,
as well as having many other advantages the "mainstream society" may not be able to offer. It
would be a tragedy to lose people who are gifted in ways many people are not. One could
argue that a mainstream society is a society with naturally occurring differences and
neurodiverse people scattered throughout it as a norm.
c Society benefits from neurodiversity, or different ways of thinking, because the creativity and
ingenuity that is linked to neurodiversity are key traits needed for innovation. Engineer and
designer Shawn Brown (2021), said it best:
It is our collective responsibility, to ensure that young people in schools can learn in ways that
embrace and support their creativity and their neurodiversity. Because if we don't, then we're
going to miss out on many of the innovators, problem solvers, and inventors that we need in
our everchanging world. (YouTube Video)
People like Brown are a great example of how we can end the stigma of needing to "fix"
neurodiversity. To realize the abilities and benefits of neurodiversity, we need to focus on the
strengths rather than the hindrances of these "disorders" (I truly do not enjoy that term, as I
have always said a disability just means an extra ability somewhere else.) Once we allow
someone who is neurodiverse a chance to flourish in their own ways and succeed within their
strengths, the advantages are clear as day. In conclusion, I believe people need more exposure
and experience with people who think differently than them to allow a blending of ideas and
creativity. With these genetic differences being heavily present in art, engineering, and
designing fields, it is hard to see neurodiversity as a negative concept.
Allowing ourselves to learn about this kind of diversity and to also embrace it, not only
enhances our emotional intelligence, but in a way also takes a leap towards social justice by
supporting others who have felt excluded from the "mainstream society" because they think
differently than most. We see cases of this exclusion in scenarios such as children being
unfairly assessed in the school systems based solely off of retention and organization, or as
with prisoners with these genes that relied on their unconventional strengths to make money
for their families when they find themselves unemployed or struggling. Neurodiversity, and
the understanding of the concept, applies to emotional intelligence in a sense that we can be
more aware of our own thought process and more socially aware of others' as well. In addition,
this concept can increase our self-care in how we allow ourselves to process our thoughts and
emotions and to accept the fact we may have to treat ourselves differently than we would
others. If we can come to a mutual understanding that neurodiversity is not about
"disabilities", but rather a different set of abilities and other differences in the brain, there can
be an enormous beneficial impact resulting in a storm of creativity, innovation, and beauty
harmoniously in the world.
I feel as if neurodiverse individuals should not change themselves because I myself have a
daughter that is ADHD. My baby is a 15-year-old sophomore in high school. She began to
show signs of ADHD when she was entering into the 1st grade. For the longest I felt as if she
was "Just being a kid" and would fret the fact that she was so easily moved by sound and
motions in her surroundings. I noticed the typical day in a shopping mall would be a challenge.
I had a hard time getting her to cope with just being still or quiet. I than realized that it wasn't
the phase, but I began to blame it on the fact her father and I went through a temporary
separation, and I was worried about how she took that because my baby is a definite daddy's
girl, I would than realize even through our separation that we kept it normal as possible and we
had focused on solely her and did awesome co-parenting. It was still an issue, and I took
matters into my own hands and got involved with family therapy. That was great but it was a
great timing because during that time we had a recommendation from her teacher that she
wanted me to get my daughter evaluated for ADHD. I of course went directly to our family
therapist who then referred me to take my baby to a behaviour specialist that was in her
network and a great colleague. And yes, the results from our evaluations we done came to be
that my baby is ADHD as well as ODD. These matters are dealt with by medication, therapy,
and a lot of TLCS. During this time with her diagnoses, I seen a great change it was not
because I changed her schools or moved her around to make her comfortable. Instead, it was
because I had a great support from my family, friends, her friends, and teachers along with the
med team to be comfortable with her and having that understanding and support is what
helped me to help her. She is grasping things a lot better and wanting a challenge. She enjoys
taking lead and being calm and in tune with all details. I am proud because the very ones who
lack knowledge of what is going on and claimed her to be bad now see she is doing great and
attentive instead of attention seeking and defiant. When you take the proper precautions to
have your child treated and face the challenges everything will fall into place. We cannot
change how people will think or feel instead we must do what we can to fix what is wrong and
do so with pride. ADHD children find their strengths on their own and will show in due time
and you will see the beauty and value in neurodiversity. Society will benefit because they will
see the benefits reaped by how you took care of the matter. I feel we cannot move away from
the stigma of neurodiversity being regarded as something to fix. I feel it is a normal variation,
we are all human and we are all different. In my eyes though I chose self-care is the top
concept of neurodiversity because as I explained, self-care is what helped me in facing the
challenge with my daughter and so to everyone I feel as if it’s important to choose what is best
for you.
Individuals who are neurodiverse should never change themselves to conform to this
mainstream society. These unique individuals are an asset to our society with their advanced
abilities over most who consider themselves to be more highly intelligent than they are. They
are gifted. Their uniqueness is what we need to help us all in ways we never thought we
needed. We cannot fix anyone. Having a genuine acceptance of all people no matter their
neurodiversity is what is needed to have simple humanity. Individuals who are neuro
diversified have unmatched empathy for all they meet without judgment which can be applied
to emotional intelligence. Those with neurodiversity are genuinely accepting of all even when
they are rejected by many.
I found this week's topic very interesting. It is also close to home as I have a family member
that is diagnosed with autism. And while is moderately functioning, he will never be able to
live on his own and completely take care of himself. He struggles with social cues and norms.
There are certain signs of affection that he finds uncomfortable, such as a hug. He is easily
agitated in new environments and situations. I have seen the school system, as well as society,
fail him time after time due to a lack of understanding and knowledge of his neurodiverse
brain. But, despite all his struggles, I have seen him use his amazing gifts to overcome so
much. He is now able to have a job and has graduated high school with good grades. He is one
of the most intelligent and intuitive people I know. He has a memory like a steel trap and a
thirst for knowledge like I have never seen. So why should he have to conform to society's
boring version of "normal?" His spirit is a rainbow in the middle of a grayscale polaroid. Why
should anyone be allowed to ask him to dim that light to make it more comfortable or
convenient for others who do not understand? Neurodiversity, such as autism, ADHD, ADD,
and dyslexia, provides such a unique perspective on the world that it allows those people to
approach problems in a new way. Individuals that possess these neurodivergent traits are often
able to see things, and come up with solutions that mainstream society cannot. I believe this
has a lot to do with the fact that people with a neurodiversity are not restricted by the same
rules of "normalcy." Some small steps are being taken to close the gap between individuals
with neurodivergent brains and individuals without, including the coining and mainstream use
of the word neurodiversity as well as increased resources in schools to help provide a more
suitable learning environment for children and teens with neurodiverse traits. However, I feel
like the most important steps to creating equality are the ones being most ignored, and those
are awareness, education, and understanding. Each one of our brains are different in the way
they work and the way they appear. Neurodiverse individuals just happen to have a more
distinguishable difference. As far as how neurodiversity applies to the programmatic themes,
it enevitably will affect each one of these catagories as neurodiversity, at its very core, is
defined as neurological differences.
Every person you may come across is going to be unique in a way that stands out to others no
matter if they are neurodiverse or not. Individuals that are neurodiverse should never have to
change themselves to comfort to mainstream society. I say that because, just because someone
is neurodiverse, doesn't mean they have to change to fit in and they should be accepted as who
they are. Society benefits from different ways of thinking by creating new ideas and ways for
people that are neurodiverse to fit in and not feel as if they stand out and are looked at
differently by other and their peers. The way that we can move away from the stigma of
neurodiversity being regarded as something to fix and moved towards an understanding of it
as a normal variation of humanity is by preaching worldwide that neurodiversity isn't
something that someone choses, they are mostly born with it and it is who they are as a person
and shouldn't be judged by something that they didn't have a choice on having. Neurodiversity
just needs to be more accepted and to do that everyone has to lend a helping hand for those that
are neurodiverse and find different ways that everyone can be the same and all fit in together.
Being neurodiverse plays a major role in self-care, social justice, emotional intelligence,
career connections, and ethic because being neurodiverse effects almost everything especially
autism and other things related to that. By having things like that it effects your self-care and
just all around how you act and how you come across in public, making social justice and
emotional intelligence hard to work with. Neurodiversity plays a major role in career
connections and ethics because by being neurodiverse it may be hard for you to do some jobs
and might hold you back from doing the things you really want to do. Stated in the video
Human Neurodiversity Should Be Celebrated, Not Treated as a Disorder | Op-Ed | NowThis
"Too little attention given to enable people with neurologically different lives to be accepted
for themselves to discover and celebrate their strengths and to find a place in society that
values their differences" All the world needs is for everyone to be more accepting of
neurodiversity and find ways where we can all work together.
Reference:
NowThis media. (2018, July 23). Human neurodiversity should be celebrated, not treated as a
disorder | op-ed | NowThis. YouTube. Retrieved September 8, 2022, from
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aWxmEv7fOFY
[SNHU A11y Remediated Videos]. (2021, November 17). PSY-108 Human Neurodiversity
Should Be Celebrated, Not Treated as a Disorder (CC). YouTube. Retrieved September 8,
2022, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ROlAsFiLso
[TEDx Talks]. (2021, December 13). Neurodiversity: an untapped resource for future
inventors | Shawn Brown | TEDx Truro. YouTube. Retrieved September 8, 2022, from (40)
