Neurodiverse

Amongst others, I am an only officially diagnosed in adulthood Autist. Congratulations!
I also share perspectives on this and beyond, through my work around neurodiversity.

What is Neurodiversity?

Neurodiversity is the spectrum of variations in individual brain functions and behavioural traits and is understood as a form of human diversity that is subject to the same social dynamics as other forms of diversity (including the dynamics of power and oppression). The term has now gained a growing foothold in academia, literature and praxis, especially in the English-speaking world.

What do "neurodivergent", "neurotypical" etc. mean?

Neurodivergent, Neurodistinct, Neurospicy, Neurominority, Neuroexpansive (synonym adjectives) / Neurodivergence, Neurominority (synonym nouns) describes individuals whose neurocognitive brain functions deviate from those that society defines as lying within the norm, i.e. as neurotypical or neuromajority. Neurodivergencies are for example: Autism, AD(H)D, Dyspraxia, Tourette Syndrome (TS), Bipolarity, Dyscalculia, Dyslexia, Synaesthesia, Hyperlexia, and further. There are currently many different self-designations of neurodivergent people in use and further development according to personal preferences.
Neurodiverse or neurodiversity describes the combination of or consideration for neurodivergent and neurotypical people. For example: My work is neurodiverse as it takes into account neurominorities as well as the neuromajority.

Lectures, Keynotes, Workshops & Creative Work on
(intersectional & decolonial) Neurodiversity

If you would like to further the exchange with me on neurodiversity, please feel free to get in touch. Do let me know as much as possible about what you have in mind, the desired format, the conditions and the overall framework.

Enquiries

Why and what for Neurodiversity?

The self-coined concept of neurodiversity offers a way to shift the sovereignty of interpretation over terminologies, contexts and classifications into the responsibility of neurodivergent people themselves. Current estimates see 20% of people falling into the neurodivergence spectrum, this estimate has risen in recent years and may continue to do so because human diversity is more complex than our societal norms tend to allow it to appear.

Neurodivergent brain functions have been proven to work differently than those of the neurotypical majority. However, it should also be borne in mind that neurodivergent brain functions are completely individual from one person to the next, even among those with the supposedly same diagnosis. What becomes apparent here, among other things, is that the formal pathologisation and categorisation of neurominorities to date is one that looks at those affected from an external neurotypical perception, and not one that sufficiently takes into account the actual life realities and perceptions of neurodivergent people themselves. In my experience, for example, I often have a lot in common with neurodivergent people with other official diagnoses, in terms of perception and processing, while we differ greatly in outward expression. If neurodivergent people had developed categorisations themselves, it is quite possible that completely different classifications - or perhaps simply none at all - would have emerged.

In addition, there is the aspect of pathologisation itself, which classifies people as sick, having a disorder, functioning, non-functioning, etc., which leads to shame, prejudice, exclusion and paternalism of neurodivergent people. Neurodiversity, on the other hand, focuses on equal participation, reduction of discrimination and adequate support possibilities for neurodivergent people, as well as a dissolution of harmful stereotypes, attributions and unconscious biases. There is a lack of free spaces and development opportunities for neurodivergent people whilst facing continuous sanism, ableism and discrimination. An incomplete list of examples:

Authenticity and reality of experiences are often denied (e.g. in the case of overstimulation) - "it's not so bad", "it doesn't seem to bother anyone else, so it can't be a problem".
Abilities and interests are classified as inferior or limited - "insular talent" "disorder" "obsession".
In case of misunderstandings about ways of communication (e.g. direct vs. indirect communication), neurodivergent persons are assigned the deficit. For example, autistic people communicate just as efficiently with each other as neurotypical people, so any difficulties in communication are mutual and caused by both sides.
Physical self-determination (e.g. stimming - repeated execution of certain physical movements or vocalisations -, so-called "tics", avoiding eye or body contact, etc.) is admonished or even denied - "everyone likes hugs", "look at me when I'm talking to you", "really made an effort to stop doing that (e.g. stimming or tics), you could".
It is not uncommon for neurodivergent people to be admonished or ridiculed in their entirety.

Enormous human potential is lost in the process, not only for those affected, but for society as a whole. Recognising people in their true diversity and enabling them to actually participate is the right of all of us for all of us. And in effect, spaces, workplaces, activities, etc. that have been designed for neurodivergent people, and in the best case have been (co-)designed by them, become generally more accessible, diverse, socially aware and thus more forward-looking. Whilst allowing for more flexibility and adaptations in communication and interaction methods helps to make communication more efficient and precise overall.

Already at an early age, I became aware of the fact that my perceptual experiences seemed to deviate from the majority, but I also learned to understand and take into account those of my environments. Unfortunately, this was often a one-sided effort and learning experience, but nowadays, I have the capability to take into account a variety of worlds of experience (neurodivergent and neurotypical) in all of my work. Finding my own ways and new approaches, thinking creatively, responding flexibly to others' ways of communicating and thinking, developing self-determined ways of working and living, also supporting others in these processes - these are just a few of the competences I developed as a neurodivergent person in a neurotypical world.

So, why was I only diagnosed in adulthood?

International studies (which themselves unfortunately apply a purely binary gender system) prove that neurodivergence is under-diagnosed in girls and women (which under a more intense lense, seems to actually to often refer to non-cis males), as well as BIPoC (Black People, Indigenous People & People of Colour) / racialised persons being demonstrably under-diagnosed in e.g. AD(H)S and Autism. Especially in German-speaking countries, there is a lack of concrete studies and debates around this at all. This means that people who are affected by a multitude of discriminations and unconscious biases are much less likely to be detected by the diagnostic structures and mechanisms.

This has a complex variety of reasons. Stereotypical - predominantly false - attributions about Autism and Neurodivergencies in general play a role here, which created images among teaching staff and environments, for example, which I naturally did not fit. In addition, there is also the factor of social conditioning and further discriminatory factors. As a Black, East-German, chronically ill, female-read person (and I deliberately put it that way), with early violent experiences and evident queer discourses, additionally exposed for a long time to an environment of extremely conservative and above-average privileged people as the child of a single mother and with all of the above, it was very clearly signalled to me from a very young age that I should never, at any price, stand out, step out of line or even make the slightest misstep, as this led to immediate and consequential condemnation and exclusion. The fact that according to the definition of societal norms, I was out of line already simply through my very existence, naturally made this an impossible task to navigate. But these are ultimately forming experiences that lead to, for example, autistic traits being massively suppressed and expressed differently, making the affected persons even less likely to conform to the expected stereotypes. So maybe we could just leave it alone with the stereotypes, right?

Further inputs from me on Neurodiversity

Autismus. Räume. Schaffen
Übrigens, ich bin autistisch.
(German, Article, Rosa-Mag, 2021)

(H)Our Realities:
True Colours of Neurodiversity
(German, Podcast, BIWOC* Rising, 2022)

Das Innere nach außen kehren: Tessa
(German, Portrait, ZIMT Magazin, 2023)

Black Spectrum
Sharing-Circle for Black neurodivergent people
(since 2021, appr. bimonthly meetings)

A.U.T.I.S.M. -
Artistically Ultimately Tangibly Intensely Shamelessly Myself
(Theatre Production, 2023)

Further Inputs & Keynotes for example:

Lukulule – Musik & Tanz für Jugend e.V.,
Theater & Orchester Heidelberg

& many more with overarching themes

Beneath, between & beyond diagnoses?

I actually self-identified as autistic at the age of 12, based on autodidactic research. Emerging online worlds opened up new possibilities for exchange and at 16 I even joined a self-help association of autistic people. But seeking an official diagnosis at that time would only have led to additional paternalism and defamation for me personally. Ten years later (and several other diagnoses later, as is so often the case for neurodivergent people), I finally pursued the path of an official autism diagnosis out of a process of self-determination and self-orientation. And to be honest, it didn't do much to me at first, because I already knew that; somewhere it at least strengthened and confirmed me in my self-perception. But what got in the way were the formulations of the diagnosis, which looked at me and classified me exclusively from the perspective of the neurotypical world. For example, the fact that I "functioned" excellently from the neurotypical world's point of view did not mean that I was feeling and coping well with that, or that I did not need support, or that I was not being disabled. It just meant that I had no choice but to function at all times in order to survive. It was a diagnosis that largely failed to grasp the complexity and intersectionality of my life realities.

Especially in my younger years, whenever naming my needs, I was usually declared a problem, portrayed as dishonest or overly dramatic instead of encountering support, empathy or consideration; as a result, I was subjected to extreme, one-sided and constant obligations to adapt. With or without a diagnosis was not the question here, however, but rather the fundamental individual and social attitudes. Because, for example, many autism therapies and approaches to engaging with autistic people are also based on imposing neurotypical behaviours on autistic people and classifying us as inferior or even in need of healing. It was only in the years after my official diagnosis that further self-determined discourses followed, which led to the realisation of how much I was conditioned to have to please those around me and to have to "function" and "mask" according to normative expectations - regardless of how I myself was treated in the process, regardless of what was actually good and reasonable for me and especially regardless of how much more strength and effort I had to expend for certain processes.

A true understanding of human neurodiversity and a knowledge of where we ourselves fall in the classification of societal norming of this carries enormous potential, personally and across society, as long as we also engage with it in its complexity. This can happen with and through - but also without - official diagnoses; the more important processes for me have always been my own discourses and researches as well as the exchange with other neurodivergent people.

Why and what for intersectional & decolonial Neurodiversity?

This should not really have to be said, because by definition neurodiversity should be intersectional and decolonial, but since things are rarely as they should be, I am consciously framing my work towards this. The aspects mentioned so far in relation to the intersectional worlds of experience of neurodivergent people are also only incomplete insights; because discrimination is unfortunately as diverse as humanity, i.e. racism, (hetero- & cis-) sexism, classism, additional ableism (due to further disabilities) and all further discrimination (sub)forms play a role in the worlds of experience, social conditioning and development of neurodivergent people. An awareness of the fact that a lot is still being worked through here and that discourses are sometimes still completely missing is essential for a true understanding of neurodiversity. Furthermore, it is becoming apparent in ongoing research and discourse, for example, that neurodivergent people are also positioning themselves more frequently as belonging to the LGBTQIA+ community, which opens up further additional levels in ongoing processes and debates.

Neurodiversity is ultimately not a new phenomenon, but a term newly coined in the late 1990s, arising from and in current Western/Eurocentric cultures and societies, their dominances and value systems - a term with its own (ongoing) development and limitations. These in turn spread by force through colonialism to many other parts of the world, where they suppress(ed) local cultures and knowledge. The sanism and ableism of these Western cultures and their colonial dissemination now also decisively shape the perspectives on neurominorities. Therefore, an awareness of the necessity of sharpening a decolonial perspective on neurodiversity is indispensable for advancing discussions on the topic.

Human diversity of competences, processing, ways of thinking and perceiving have always been there and necessary, but it has been understood very differently in different times and different cultures. There is still much to explore, research and (re)discover here!

Isn't it a privilege and luxury to engage with something like Neurodiversity?

As a neurodivergent person, it is not a privilege to engage with neurodiversity, but a survival necessity and an indispensability. Whether we consciously engage with it or not, whether we want to or not, whether we know and use the terms used here or not - we are simply exposed to the confrontations through everyday social realities. My personal confrontation with being autistic and with Neurodiversity was a 20-year-long development of knowledge and insights, as well as lifelong experiences, the longest time of which it remained on an absolutely private level. It was not until 2021 that I decided to engage with this knowledge openly and publicly, in order to be able to have a much greater impact on society as a whole in this area, and also because I became aware of how much suppressed knowledge I had acquired in the meantime. Certainly, the possibility to make this decision also presupposed privileges that I now have and would like to use.

By the way, what is without question a (neurotypical) privilege is to be able to ask oneself whether one wants to even engage with neurodiversity at all.

Mini-Glossary

Ableism
Discrimination, oppression or social prejudice against people with disabilities.
(derived from the English "able")

Binary Gender System
The binary (western) gender system assumes that there are only two genders and associated social roles, namely male and female. The system thus suppresses inter-gender, non-binary, trans*, gender-fluid, agender and other identities.
(derived from the Latin "binarius")

Cis-(gender)
Refers to persons whose gender identity matches the sex assigned at birth.
(derived from the Latin "cis").

Decolonial/ity
A school of thought that aims to break away from Eurocentric hierarchies of knowledge and ways of life in the world, and is dedicated to perspectives before, beyond and after colonisation through Western cultures.

Intersectional/ity
A concept for understanding how a person's different social and political identities interact to produce different forms of discrimination and privilege.
(derived from the English "intersections")

Sanism
Discrimination, oppression or social prejudice against persons who are classified as neurodivergent, so-called cognitively impaired or mentally ill, among others.
(derived from the English "sane")

Note on the Contents

Personal experience and scientific research on the topic of neurodiversity are detailed here. None of this - or ever - can or should speak for the experiences of all neurodivergent people, because this is just impossible (that's the point). Sources are linked where relevant, as well as listed below.

Sources

Links to sources or further information are provided for deeper contextualisation, but do not necessarily reflect my personal opinions, some of them they may also reproduce discriminatory language.

​​​Neurodiversity