What comes to mind when you think about neurodivergent people?
Some of the current stories are about our 'superpowers'. Others are about the things we struggle to do that neurotypical people can do with ease. There are stories about us transforming board rooms and working strategically. There are stories about our serious over-representation in the criminal justice system. There are stories of parents seeking 'cures' for us. There are desperately sad stories of us taking our own lives.
And, do you know what?
These are stories that can be told within any neurotype, within any culture. The stories are not unique to neurodivergent people.
Even in Wales, where I live as an *AuDHDer and **autrepreneur, my experiences are of the same kind as everyone else in Wales. Where my experiences differ is in their intensity.
What I mean is, I get sensory overload going into a supermarket. The lights, the noise, the people moving unpredictably, the colours, the smells. Everyone is capable of getting sensory overload. Put anyone in a psychodelic intense sensory experience and crank up the volume and at some point it will get too much.
The level that incapacitates me could merely reduce your wellbeing and efficiency slightly.
I am the canary down the coalmine. I am your early warning signal that an environment is unhealthy for all. The whiff of carbon monoxide may not harm you but it reduces your effectiveness and wellbeing. You won't even notice unless you have a canary with you who falls off its perch.
[as an aside, did you know that birds down coalmines had tiny oxygen masks to resuscitate them? You can even see one in the Science and Industry Museum. I so wish public spaces had 'neurodivergent resuscitors' for us to recover when exposed to sensory overload. One day...]
My point is that neurodivergent people do not need 'special design' for our 'special needs'. We are the canaries down the coalmine. You need what we need; you just don't get affected as badly as us.
Neurodivergent design is neuroinclusive design, the foundation of universal design. If it works for the canaries, it works for the miners. Design an environment that keeps canaries on their perch and everyone will be healthier and more productive.
*someone who is both autistic and ADHD
** an autistic entrepreneur
