A New Label

            So, there is a word that has been getting thrown around lately, neurodiversity. Neurodiversity (ND) is a diversity of the human mind. The term has been around for a while but had really come the forefront of education and popular culture in the last several years. You have to understand that neurodiversity is not a political or social activism movement, it is not a perspective, an approach, or a belief. It is in fact a biological fact, it is how someone is born and how their brain has developed or it can occur when there is an accident, trauma, or things along that line to the brain causing the wiring to become mixed up and function at a different pace.  It is having a brain that functions in a different way that is significantly different from how the dominant societal standards of what is classified as normal. Examples of neurodiversity what we often see or associate with the term are people on the Autism Spectrum, people who are dyslexic, who have epilepsy, and people who suffer from autoimmune illnesses that can affect the brain. 

         The opposite of neurodiversity is what is referred to as neurotypical (NT). Being neurotypical is having brain functions that are how the dominant societal standards that are considered normal. It is the condition in which neurodivergent people stray from. What it is not is a statement that a person is non-autistic, non-dyslexic, etc. There are many types of neurodivergent persons but then there is just one type of neurotypical person because that is what society has deemed as “normal.” So basically, neurotypical is what society has stated is the current manner in which the brain is to perform any and all of its functions. 

         Now knowing what the terms mean, think about it. Do you fall to one side or the other? You might have associated the term to mean disability, which in some cases they go together but not all the time. You might even be surprised to know that you fall into the neurodivergent category. I bet more people fall into the neurodivergent category these days. I understand how hard it is to think in terms of you might not be what society deems as “normal.” We all want to be normal and we all want to fit and be a part of the collection as a whole. Just because you fall on the ND side of the coin does not mean you are not “normal” or you don’t fit into the norms around you, it just means your brain is wired a bit differently or you think differently. You can be so called “normal” in every aspect of your life but your brain just likes to view things on a tilt and that is okay. 

         I am one to want to be different in most of what I do, say, wear, and prefer but I never wanted a label to that, I just wanted to be me. Well, I have been labeled all types of thing throughout my life, most of them were inherently wrong but none the less I got the label. As I began to work with students in special education programs and I got to know all the different “labels” put on the students it became clear to me that I truly don’t think that there are many who would fall in the NT side. I see people all the time that think differently than me because their brain processes the information in a manner that is foreign to me but that doesn’t make them wrong. 

         I have so many medical labels that I go by these days, I honestly didn’t want another label to define me for others. I realized though that my brain is in fact very different from what is the normal societal view. I always felt that I was not like others in how I processed information, how I obtained things and how I gave the information back to someone. I was never tested in school but looking back I think I should have been; it might have helped me out a lot. In fact, it was a clue to me that I might be wired different when I had to have a tutor for every year in school (from elementary to college) for math. Still to this day, I freak out if I have to do math, and I am so thankful that we now have a calculator in our hand at all time. 

         As this term becomes even more mainstream these days, I have decided the embrace it. I know that I have ADHD, I have several of my autoimmune illnesses that affect my brain, cause me issues, and have actually rewired parts of my brain. I have family members and friends that I would say definitely fall into the ND category whether they categorize themselves as that or not. As I am learning more about what ND is, how it appears, and what its functions are like I am realizing I have yet another label that I need to use to define me. I don’t have to be embarrassed by this new label, I don’t have to let it define me, and I don’t have to carry it as a badge of either honor or disgrace. I am realizing I am a complicated case both medically and educationally but I also know that even with that I am me, and I am just fine as I am.