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What is Neurodiversity?

The difference and similarities between ASD and ADHD.

In recent years there has been an explosion of interest in Neurodiversity, many organisations are seeking to understand this term more, and many individuals are finding out that they are indeed Neurodivergent, and that missing link of identity has finally been found. Three years ago, I was lucky to find that missing link.

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Neurodiversity is an umbrella term for many different aspects of how the brain works

The most well-known terms within this umbrella are ASD and ADHD. ASD means Autism Spectrum Disorder and ADHD is Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. Personally, I feel this term disorder as being outdated; I see being Neurodivergent as being a great Gift, which from my experience allows the Neurodivergent individual to see the world through a different set of lenses. Lenses that this World I believe will need to see through now, with the many challenges facing our World such as climate change.

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Sadly, for the Neurodivergent individual through no fault of their own had to try and fit into a Neurotypical World, resulting in, minority stress like the LGBTQ+ Community. This action is commonly called “Masking”(Belcher,2022) Masking can cause lack of self-belief and self-confidence resulting in numerous mental health issues such as Anxiety & Depression for the Neurodivergent person. However, it is great to see many organisations are looking at Neurodiversity to support their colleagues and employees. It is great to see many more mental health professionals for a better word “come out” as being Neurodivergent, such support allows the Neurodivergent person, begin to relish in the beauty of being Neurodivergent.

While approximately 10% of the population has ADHD, additional research has shown that 40% of autistic people have ADHD, with other findings state it could be closer to 70%. By contrast, it has been stated that 2-3% of people are autistic, 20-50% of those with ADHD are also autistic (Marchall, 2022)

So, what exactly is ASD and ADHD, I will explain the differences and similarities between both these Neurodiverse types, based on my experience as being a Neurodivergent person myself and the work I have done working with other Neurodivergent people.

I see an ADHD person with having Immense Creativity that no other person can create, yet for many the ADHD person would find it difficult to remember doing daily tasks that the public would take for granted. Many of the ADHD people I know have encountered the term “time blindless”(Green, 2023) where remembering appointments and getting up on time can be quite challenging. The ASD person would be opposite where the ASD person would be overwhelmed with the immense creativity of ideas of the ADHD person. The ASD person would excel on given a task to do with clear instructions. The ASD person would thrive with the idea of routine and would find any sudden changes in routine difficult to manage, whereas the ADHD person would relish in the chaos of creativity. During my corporate days, I was always asked why I would never speak up in meetings, and now I fully understand why I would find such meetings immensely overwhelming, as there was no clear agenda to adhere to. When I mentioned this to other ASD people, they almost jump for joy when I disclose this , as they too find such meetings overwhelming. In relation to sensory issues, this is where I have found in my experience the most challenging aspects for the ASD person to live with, including my personal challenge with sound, I find sound the most challenging , where I indeed thought I was racist, as I find certain languages sometimes difficult to bare, and have discovered that it is the tone of the language that is the challenging one not the person who is speaking it. I have found some other ASD people have similar experience with other world languages, Smell, touch can be also challenging for the ASD person , the beautiful smelling aftershave can cause the person who smells it, fall into love with the person who wears it, yet for some of my ASD friends and colleagues, the aftershave would make them feel ill , and to run a mile away from the person wearing it . The unwanted touch can cause the ASD person to go into overdrive, causing high anxiety.

ADHD and ASD Similarities

The ADHD person and ASD person do share similarities such as in attention, typical movements such as fidgeting or stimming , when I give some of my Neurodiverse friends, the fantastic ono roller, it is hard to get it back from them, as the grounding senses they feel can be immense. Both Neurodiverse types can encounter sensory overloads, as many can find sound challenging at times, so a brief pause, allowing the noisy motorcycle to pass by can be bliss for both I and the Neurodiverse person I am working with. Both Neurodiverse types have a strong sense of justice proving difficult for them to live in the current world we all live in.

I am delighted that there has been a growing interest in Neurodiversity, where both the Neurodivergent individual can get a deeper understanding of Self, grow in compassion, and eliminate the mental stress they have encountered for being who they are. Organisations can benefit by supporting their colleagues, many people I know who are Neurodivergent are seeking organisations that support their newfound identity, The ASD and ADHD person, do have differences and similarities as outlined above, in fact we are seeing more and more feel that they indeed have a combination of ASD and ADHD creating a new term AuDHD (Marchall, 2022) Neurospicy, Neuroqueer, are similar terms that many Neurodivergent people use, which I personally find endearing, by using such terms, in my opinion , they have reclaimed their identity, and that they have taken their power back in being proud of who they are, once lost so many years ago.

Neurotypical

Neurodiversity is in its infancy in the minds of all, yet with this infancy it will grow, a growth that will benefit the individual and company, and indeed the world in general. We face turbulent times ahead, where perhaps the lens of looking out of the Neurotypical box will allow solutions to be provided that will benefit the world as a whole.

References:
Belcher, H Dr (2022) “Autistic People and Masking” (online). Available from https://www.autism.org.uk/advice-and-guidance/professional-practice/autistic-masking (Accessed 20th, January 2024).
Green, R, (2023) “Time blindness in ADHD” (online) Available from https://www.verywellmind.com/causes-and-symptoms-of-time-blindness-in-adhd-5216523 (Accessed 20th, January, 2024).
Marschall, A. (2022) “ What to know about comorbid Autism and ADHD( AuDuD)” (online). Available from https://www.verywellmind.com/what-to-know-about-comorbid-autism-and-adhd-6944530 ( Accessed 20th January 2024).