celebrating neurodiversity week - neurodiversity and unmasking

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Neurodiversity Celebration Week is a worldwide initiative that challenges stereotypes and misconceptions about neurological differences.​

In celebration of this, our latest blog recognises that there is continued confusion about the term Neurodiversity, and we help to decode some of the terms that are often used.

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what is neurodiversity?

Neurodiversity is a term used to describe the idea that people process the world in different ways – that there is no “right” or “wrong” way of thinking or behaving. Instead, everyone’s brains have developed and are working in different ways, through differently developed pathways. Neurodiversity recognises the unique ways people’s brains work. Being neurodivergent means the brain works different to the “general population”, the “average” or “neurotypical” person

It is an umbrella term, that covers a number of conditions such as autism, AD(H)D, ADD, Tourette, ’s Dyspraxia, and Dyslexia. Just as there’s a diverse number of conditions that come under the neurodiversity umbrella, no one experiences those conditions in the same way - there’s a diverse way peoples minds work.

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The different conditions 

ADD and ADHD (attention deficit (with Hyper activity) disorder are neurodevelopmental conditions that means that someone may have poor attention, struggle to focus, poor working memory and poor executive function. With hyper activity, individuals can have high levels of energy. Therefore, staying focused or organised can be difficult. People with AD(H)D might find it difficult to plan or organise and find that they do things more flexibility or spontaneously, without a sense of routine or structure.

Autism is a lifelong neurodevelopmental condition which influences how someone processes sensory information and how they think and communicate. An autistic person may have problems processing sensory input from any of the senses (touch, sound, sight, smell and taste) or become overloaded with too much sensory input, or have trouble reading social cues.

Tourette’s syndrome is a neurological condition that causes people to make involuntary movements or sounds, known as tics.

Dyslexia affects a person’s ability to process written language, which may cause difficulties in reading or / and decode writing. Dysgraphia affects handwriting and fine motor skills, while dyspraxia can affect both fine and gross motor skills movement and coordination. People with these diagnoses are not unintelligent or incapable of learning. They benefit from learning in different ways or working.

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masking

Even though these conditions typically develop in childhood, many people have been diagnosed later on in life, in adult hood, because they have learnt to Mask or hide their differences. This is particularly true of neurodiverse women.

what is masking? 

Behaving and acting out what is often learnt and observed social behaviours, that are deemed more “socially acceptable” to a neurotypical person. Neurodiverse people have often experienced trauma and judgement and masking helps them to feel like they fit in. Masking can include engaging in small talk and forcing or faking eye contact - things that can feel uncomfortable to a neurodivergent person.

masking can mean hiding who you really are

As a result, neurodiverse people can feel under significant stress, worried and fearful that they might slip up and get caught out for not acting in the “right” way. This is often accompanied with heightened anxiety and a constant need to be aware of what you are saying and how you are behaving – which can be tiring, contributing to mental exhaustion.

how might you identify when someone is masking 

People will often hide their neurodiverse behaviours such as talking about their interests or stimming or self-soothing as they fear being judged or excluded.

what is stimming?

Stimming is a repetitive form of behaviour that helps to bring a sense of calm or helps people to express their feelings.

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how can you help neurodiverse people to feel more comfortable about showing who they really are? 

A lot of the time, you won’t get someone to unmask completely, and rarely in a public space. However, creating a space such as a quiet room or sensory area, can help the person to feel more comfortable, supported and have that privacy to self-regulate if they want or need to.

Within the workplace, establishing good relationships that are based on sharing knowledge, understanding and creating a safe environment, can also help neurodiverse people. Creating this culture, creates the space for people to unmask to an extent that that they feel comfortable with.