- The ND in Sandra Bell ND Coach stands for neurodivergent
- Neurodiversity means that all brains are different, whilst neurodivergent brains are those that aren't like the majority/neurotypical brains
- Neurodivergent individuals are a minority and as such can struggle to communicate effectively with, and be accepted by, the majority - neurotypicals
The ND in Sandra Bell ND Coach stands for neurodivergent.
There can be confusion over the terms neurodiversity versus neurodivergent. I totally get it. In the past I used them interchangeably as well, but technically we are all neurodiverse because we are all part of a diverse set of brains, but not everyone is neurodivergent. I am because I'm autistic, and there are many other ways to be neurodivergent too - ADHD, dyslexic, dysgraphic, Tourettes, to name just a few.
The concept of neurodiversity was first put into writing by Judy Singer in 1998 as a way to understand the diversity of human brains, in the same way we understand the diversity of other biological entities. We know that biodiversity is important to a healthy environment, and neurodiversity is important to a healthy society.
Neurodiversity can be split into those who are neurotypical, or think and experience the world in a similar way and are the majority; and those who are neurodivergent, who experience the world in a different way to the majority and are themselves a minority. If we are all the same, and all view and experience the world the same, how would we ever have innovation? It isn't a coincidence that many out of the box thinkers are neurodivergent - Billie Eilish, Emma Watson, Albert Einstein, Steve Jobs, Richard Branson, Bill Gates and the list goes on.
So why does being neurodivergent matter? Why is it something that those of us who are neurodivergent want to take pride in? In short, it wouldn't matter if we were treated as being as valid, and as worthy, as those who are neurotypical. Unfortunately, we are often "othered", and this can start from very young. We can be made to feel wrong or less than, instead of just merely different.
Neurodivergent individuals can be very direct in the way they communicate. There is nothing inherently wrong with this; it just seems efficient to me. But when it isn't how the majority communicate then it can be seen as something that needs to fixed, so that we communicate in a way that others expect and helps them to feel comfortable around us. But why? Neurotypicals don't communicate in a way that I expect or that makes me feel comfortable, why aren't they the ones in the wrong? Which leads to the idea of the double empathy theory, but that's a topic for another blog.
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