What Is Neurodiversity? Why It Matters in the Workplace
Neurodiversity can simply be defined by considering its two components:
Neuro = brain
Diversity = different
Thus, at the broadest level, neurodiversity refers to brains that work differently. In essence, we all have some level of neurodiversity as no two people’s minds function in the exact same manner. Neurodiversity exists because human brains naturally function in varied ways. The term neurotypical describes the majority whose cognitive processing aligns with societal norms, whereas neurodivergent describes individuals whose processing differs significantly.
More specifically, neurodiversity refers to the natural variation in human neurological functioning, including conditions at the further reaches of that natural variation, such as Autism, Attention Deficit and Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), Dyslexia, and Dyspraxia. While all brains function differently, the term is typically used to describe individuals whose cognitive processing significantly diverges from neurotypical patterns or functioning.
Importantly, an individual is not neurodiverse; rather, they are neurodivergent – meaning their neurological functioning diverges from the typical range. Neurodiversity exists within a group that includes both neurodivergent and neurotypical individuals.
But what exactly do we mean by ‘functioning’? Let’s break down some of the aspects of neural functioning that impact everyday life to gain a better understanding of some of the practical implications of neurodiversity:
Perception: This refers to all forms of sensory perception, such as vision and hearing. While sensory input is analysed at the level of the sensory organ, such as the ear, it is only fully made sense of or processed in the brain. To take in information from the environment, we first need to consider how that information is perceived. For instance, a person with auditory sensitivity will perceive a sound to be louder than it actually is. There could be problems at the level of the sensory organ that impair the perception of a stimulus. For instance, someone with a burst eardrum will not accurately be able to perceive sound. However, sensory processing differences in neurodivergent individuals often stem from how the brain interprets sensory input rather than from issues with the sensory organs themselves.
Attention Span: For a stimulus to be meaningfully processed, we need to pay attention to it. While we may process sensory information such as a loud sound or background noise constantly and with little attention or effort, more complex information will require focused attention to be adequately processed. For example, it is not as easy to process a podcast episode without paying attention to it. However, there are also times when simple sensory input requires more attention, because context is lacking. Is it a gunshot or car backfiring? This is sometimes hard to tell without sufficient attention to contextual cues and additional attention to the stimulus. In the workplace and elsewhere, neurodivergence impacts attention span. For instance, an employee with ADHD may find it challenging to maintain focus in long, back-to-back meetings, but they may excel at fast-paced, high-energy tasks.
Information Processing: As mentioned under perception, processing for meaning takes place in the brain. Here, we match incoming sensory information with stored information to best make sense of it. When processing language for instance, we match words we hear to our internal stored vocabulary base and make sense of them by essentially ‘looking them’ up in our mental dictionaries. This all tends to happen very quickly in most cases, enabling us to understand incoming information through rapid processing.
Memory: Our stored information is crucial if we are to perform the information processing step speedily and accurately. Thus, we need to be able to hold on to information that we learn, so that we can retrieve it when we are faced with the same information in future. Memory storage is complex and impacted by multiple factors. Most of us are familiar with being introduced to someone at a party only to forget that person’s name almost instantaneously. There are multiple factors at play here: a noisy environment, many competing stimuli, possible social anxiety, the need to make a good first impression and so on. All this adds up to a failure of memory, despite it working relatively well at other times. Thus, environment matters.
Formulating a response: While there are multiple aspects involved in formulating a response, such as answering a question, it should be evident by now that correctly perceiving, attending to, processing and understanding the question are of utmost importance to begin with. Any lapse or interference in the above-mentioned processes may lead to a failed or incomplete response. There may also be ability constraints that impact one’s response, such as a speech impediment.
Overload: There are limits to how much information we can process and how well we can process it. We may hear terms like ‘sensory overload’ or ‘processing overload’. Simply, this refers to a jam in processing, an inability to parse meaning from new information presented. While we are all subject to overload at times, such as at the end of a long workday, neurodivergent people may be subject to overload more frequently, with specific types of sensory input or information, or it may impact them more seriously and lead to further negative consequences. For someone with autism for instance, an open-plan workplace may lead to excessive sensory stimulation, resulting in overload.
Motivation: This component is linked to attention and has a psychological aspect. We are more motivated by information that we find interesting or compelling. We are also more motivated by the intake of less complex information that has a clear beginning and end, where its meaning component is evident. It is easy to become unmotivated by very long bits of information whose relevance or usefulness is not immediately evident to us. Ever try finishing War and Peace? Even if all the other components are working seamlessly, motivation becomes a cognitively unifying and organising factor to help with information processing.
Learning: While learning comprises all the components mentioned above, a large aspect of true learning is application of knowledge in relevant settings. Thus, learning applied in the wrong setting leads to a mismatch, even if the information was correctly learned. With functional learning, there is an emphasis on knowledge application when it is truly needed.
Neurodivergent people may have challenges or strengths (e.g., a great memory for numerical information) associated with each factor outlined above. This means that environmental modifications often need to be made in the workplace or educational environment to accommodate their specific needs and to be truly inclusive.
Instead of viewing neurodiversity as a deficit, you should consider the multiple ways it can benefit your organisation by providing diversity in perspectives and ways of processing information. An employee with ADHD may come up with the most creative and compelling solutions because of their neurodivergence. Also, if your business caters to the public in any form, it’s crucial to remember that some of your customers or consumers may be neurodivergent themselves.
EquiDiverse Synergy offers specialised consulting aimed at better understanding neurodiversity in the workplace, lecture hall or anywhere else it may show up. View our service offering for more information.
