Neurodiversity matters
I’ve written before about being a neurodivergent postgraduate research student, but it’s a topic I feel is worth returning to. In that previous blog post I wrote about how my autism impacted on my ability to join communities and how I was personally able to combat this. In this post, however, I would like to look more at the broader neurodivergent research community and how it might be strengthened. During the first year of my PhD, I attended a neurodiversity conference at my university. This conference sought submissions from neurodivergent postgraduates and staff members on either the subject of neurodiversity or simply as a chance to present some of their own work.
While these presentations were certainly interesting in their own right, part of the value of this event was creating a space for neurodivergent researchers and staff to meet and network. As the organiser of the event later told me, despite there being a fair number of us, many neurodivergent members of the university community are not always comfortable revealing their diagnoses. Because of this, it can be very difficult to not only find community but also to explore the impact of neurodiversity within our subjects.
This isn’t just a problem for psychologists and social scientists studying conditions such as autism or ADHD, though it certainly can be; it’s also really significant for those of us working in the humanities and arts. Neurodivergence is not just a set of symptoms; instead, it’s the sum total of how our brains are wired and, as such, it affects all aspects of our lives. I found it empowering not just hearing about neurology or coping strategies but to see people theorising about an Autistic Lens for viewing film or exploring ADHD through painting.
Creating a space like this conference allowed researchers to apply their own neurodivergence in fresh and interesting ways. In doing so, it allowed us to explore our own thoughts and lives in a greater depth than I’d seen achieved before.