Home / Neuropsychology / Neurodiversity

Neurodiversity

“Neurodiversity, like the colour spectrum is infinite and complex with variations beyond our comprehension and depth that we cannot always see”

— Emily Wilding Fackrell

What is neurodiversity?

Neurodiversity describes the whole range of difference that exists in how human brains work. That takes in the ordinary variations of typical neurology and every variation of divergent neurology, the ones that sit outside the norm. No two people are alike, and that variation is part of why humans survive.

So there are two broad groups. The neurotypical, who are most people, and the neurodivergent, whose brains work a bit differently from most. Neurodivergent people behave differently from what is considered normal, in ways that vary enormously. They usually end up labelled with one or more “conditions”, which try to sort the things they most often struggle with into categories.

Current boxes

These are only a few of the labels you may have heard for people who are ND: Autistic, ASD, ASC, Aspergers, ADHD, PDA, SPD, SLD, Dyslexic, Dyspraxic and OCD. There are more, and as you can see, they are not easy to understand. Click below to find out more about these “boxes”, and scroll down to learn more about me and what I hope for the future of neurodivergent acceptance.

Illustration of the autism label: The Autistic Spectrum

Illustration of the PDA label: Pathological Demand Avoidance, with a panda

Illustration of the ADHD label: Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, with a brain and lightning bolts

Illustration of the SPD label: Sensory Processing Disorder, with the five senses around a brain

Illustration of the SLD label: Specific Learning Difficulties, with books and a graduation cap

Illustration of the OCD label: Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, with a gear and a face

Emily Wilding's understanding of neurodivergence

I have been learning about neurodivergence since early 2018, though I had been living with it, unrecognised, all my life. I knew I was different. I simply assumed I was rubbish at life, and broken. That is common among ND people who go unrecognised. Neurodivergence has become my specialist interest over that time, so I have learned a great deal about myself and about the subject — and I still have a great deal to learn. What follows is my view of it as it stands right now. I hope you will forgive the ignorances and errors I make along the way, as I learn and my view develops.

Emily Wilding's neuropsychological profile

I want to tell the story of my neurodivergence: of being unrecognised, and then recognised. I want to describe the many ways it has affected my life, and the lives of the people around me, and will go on affecting them. I want to describe how I see myself fitting into the neurotypes described here, and to set out my own neuro-profile. My hope is that it helps you get to know me, helps if you work with me, and gives you a personal story that supports your own learning about neurodivergence.