As neurodiverse people, it has been a joy to see the recent rise in awareness and acceptance of how different brains work. In Iriss we have been discussing diversity, including representation, inclusion, accessibility and equity. In recent meetings on professional curiosity, there was a discussion that neurodiverse people might struggle with the topic of professional curiosity and asking those additional questions. Cue us two neurodivergent people (maybe a little too loudly) professing our disagreement with this status, and our love of questions and problem solving. And this got us thinking.
The clue is in the name - diversity. The fact that neurodiversity is being discussed and highlighted more is wonderful, but it is easy to forget that it is a spectrum. There are different types of neurodiversity - ADHD, AuDHD, Autism, Dyscalcia, Dyspraxia, Dyslexia, cognitive functioning difficulties, Tourette’s syndrome and more - and different degrees and ways that it affects people. Neurodiversity is simply the different ways someone's brain processes information.
As with most terms, they can be associated with stereotypes, and usually those depicted in the media. We all know that stereotypes are not often helpful, they can be a good starting off point, but the experience of individuals can differ significantly. This is particularly true for women, where neurodiversity often shows up differently compared to the stereotypical neurodiverse men depicted in the media.
Take Sheldon from the Big Bang Theory as an example. He is never officially diagnosed or named as autistic but has a lot of traits which are associated with autism. This includes high academic intelligence, but low emotional intelligence. It includes hyperfocusing on sciences and all things geeky and not understanding when his interests or topics of conversations are seen as rude or inappropriate. That a stereotypical Sheldon might struggle to show empathy or asking the right questions in social work or social care when engaging with others makes sense.
However, for many autistic people, particularly for women, autistic traits look very different and the way autistic girls are socialised makes them act differently to Sheldon. Newer research indicates that autistic women are likely to show high levels of empathy, sometimes to an excessive extent. It also shows that women are more likely to mask. Masking means that you learn from observing people around you what social behaviours and interactions should look like and follow those procedures, making it easier to blend in. This practice is exhausting and often happens subconsciously and leads to much more late diagnoses for women. It does mean that autistic women are likely very good at seeing social structures and dynamics and seeing when things seem strange or odd, as they have been observing and studying these their whole lives.
For me (Katie) personally, observing people and structures in this way makes me question a lot why things are working a certain way and if I don’t understand something I find it stressful and frustrating. This makes me, I would say, more likely to ask questions and ask why something is the way it is, which is being discussed as a core part of professional curiosity.
The stereotypical understanding of ADHD usually involves a youth male child not being able to sit still or focus on school classes. They could grow up to be late or forgetful. It has been seen that ADHD in girls is often misdiagnosed as anxiety or depression, as they do not tend to show the hyper activity in their body, but in their minds and then mask it. For me (Sam), I was diagnosed with anxiety and depression as a child and first realised it was my brain that was different in my 30’s when I found out I have aphantasia (I don’t see images in my mind). I then noticed that I work out sums differently to the majority. My productivity is really just my inability to sit still, I will forget why I walked into a room and start a new task. I have a strong moral sense of right and wrong, and a high emotional intelligence (from constantly over thinking). I am a good problem solver and often want to know the most about something I can, especially why. I find that my AuDHD traits are advantages but the masking I often feel is needed is not.
We are delighted to be working on professional curiosity projects, and even more delighted that it has highlighted the need for people to be curious about what neurodiversity is and to spread their learning, as our fantastic colleagues are.
We are very aware that this is just the perspective of two individuals who identify as neurodiverse. But to both of us it feels wrong that there seems to be an assumption that people who are neurodiverse will struggle to be professionally curious because of their neurodiversity, when for both of us our neurodiversity is exactly what leads us to be curious in our work and ask (at times blunt) questions. It also feels particularly important in the context of 80% of social work and social care professionals being women, yet the stereotypes and how people see neurodiversity being heavily based on the stereotypical presentation of neurodiversity in men.
There are no doubt neurodiverse people who might struggle with professional curiosity just as there are no doubt neurotypical people who struggle with professional curiosity, but this just shows that with almost everything there is a spectrum and while we need to take different ways of thinking into account, we need to be careful to not let stereotypes slip in.
Sam and Katie - the neurodiverse duo from Iriss
P.S.: Some good books on neurodiversity and neurodiversity in women include:
- Unmasking Autism: Discovering the New Faces of Neurodiversity - Devon Price
- Divergent Mind: Thriving in a world that wasn’t designed for you - Jenara Nerenberg
