Neurodiversity

Over 1 in 100 people are on the autistic spectrum. Autism is a lifelong developmental condition that a person is born with, impacting how they communicate and interact with others and the world around them.


Common signs of autism:

• Like set routines, familiarity and get stressed by change
• Get worried or upset about unfamiliar situations or events 
• Think or do the same things again and again
• Take longer to understand things
• Find communicating and engaging with others hard
• Find it difficult to understand others, their thoughts and feelings  
• Become overwhelmed or uncomfortable by loud noises or bright lights.
  
  You can find out more about autism by visiting the National Autistic Society website.

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is a disorder that influences behaviour and is identified through the analysis of behaviour. Individuals with ADHD exhibit a consistent pattern of inattention and/or hyperactivity-impulsivity that disrupts their daily functioning and/or development. You may have heard of the term ADD which is no longer considered a diagnosis and is now part of the three identified types of ADHD:

• Inattentive
• Hyperactive/impulsive
• Combined.

Common signs of ADHD - inattentive:

• Frequently overlooks details in schoolwork, at work or in other activities
• Often makes mistakes in tasks such as schoolwork or work-related duties
• Struggles to maintain focus on tasks or activities
• Tends to appear as if not listening when spoken to
• Often fails to follow through on instructions, gets distracted or side-tracked which results in unfinished school assignments, chores, or work duties 
• Has difficulty organising tasks and activities effectively
• Finds it difficult to engage in tasks which require sustained mental effort, such as work tasks or schoolwork 
• Frequently loses items such as work/school materials, books, tools, keys, or electronic devices
• Is easily distracted by external stimuli or unrelated thoughts
• Often forgets daily tasks or activities.
  
  

Common signs of ADHD - hyperactivity and impulsivity:

• Frequently fidgets or taps hands or feet, or has difficulty staying still in their seat
• Often leaves their seat when staying seated is expected
• Feeling restless (or in children, runs or climbs in inappropriate situations)
• Struggles to engage in leisure (or play) activities 
• Is often described as being ‘on the go’, as if driven by an inner motor
• Tends to talk a lot
• Frequently interrupts by blurting out answers before a question is finished
• Has difficulty waiting for their turn
• Often interrupts or intrudes in conversations or activities.
  
  You can find out more about ADHD at ADHD UK and use its adult screening survey.

It’s believed that 10% of the UK population are dyslexic. Dyslexia is a learning difficulty that mostly affects reading and writing skills, but its impact extends beyond these areas. It is primarily related to information processing. Individuals with dyslexia may struggle to process and retain information they see and hear, which can hinder learning and the development of literacy skills. Additionally, dyslexia can also affect other areas, such as organisational abilities.

Common signs of dyslexia 

• Read and write at a slower pace
• Struggle with inconsistent spelling
• Mix up visually similar words, such as ‘pat’ and ‘pot’
• Find it hard to tell left from right
• Need to reread sections of text to fully understand them
• Have difficulty staying focused and listening attentively
• Find it challenging to quickly scan or skim through text
• Struggle to concentrate
• Experience mental overload or a sense of ‘shutting down’
• Frequently forget conversations or important dates
• Get confused when given multiple instructions at once
• Have trouble organising thoughts on paper
• Struggle with organisation, managing time and prioritising tasks
• Avoid certain types of work or study
• Find some tasks simple, but others unexpectedly difficult
• Struggle with low self-esteem, especially if dyslexia hasn’t been identified early on in life.

You can find out more about dyslexia on the British Dyslexia Association’s website.

Dyscalculia is a specific and persistent difficulty in understanding numbers, which can result in various challenges with maths. It can affect people of all ages and abilities and is often described as ‘dyslexia with numbers’ but is not as well-known as dyslexia.

Common signs of dyscalculia include:

• Struggles with short-term, working, and long-term memory
• Challenges understanding certain maths concepts, such as fractions and percentages
• Trouble recalling how to perform calculations or follow procedures
• Often relying on strategies like finger counting
• Difficulty with sequencing and recognising patterns
• Trouble with mathematical terminology and solving word problems
• Challenges with the automatic recall of information, such as multiplication tables
• Not able to explain the reasoning behind their actions
• Slower processing speed and difficulty retrieving information
• Experiencing anxiety around maths
• Tendency to depend on rote (memorising) learning, without understanding the underlying concepts.
  
  You can find out more about dyscalculia on the British Dyslexia Association’s website.

Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD), or dyspraxia, is a condition affecting fine and/or gross motor coordination in individuals of all ages, including children and adults. A person’s issues with co-ordination may affect their everyday activities, including school, work and in their home lives.

Dyspraxia may affect:

• Co-ordination, balance and movement
• Daily living skills, such as getting dressed or preparing meals
• How a person learns new skills, thinks, and remembers information at work and home
• How a person deals with emotions
• Ability to type, write, draw and hold objects
• Time management, planning and personal organisation skills
• How a person functions in social situations.

For more information on DCD / dyspraxia, visit the British Dyslexia Association’s website.

There are several other examples of how brains can process information differently. Some people consider these to be part of the ‘neurodiversity’ umbrella and others like to keep them separate - there’s no right or wrong answer.

• Cognitive functioning difficulties or executive dysfunction
• Dysgraphia
• Misophonia
• Slow processing speed
• Stammering
• Tourette’s syndrome.