Recognize and celebrate the diverse skills

A new study highlights the need to recognize and celebrate the diverse skills of individuals with neurodevelopmental conditions like ADHD, dyslexia, and autism. The research advocates for a shift in perspective, focusing on strengths such as creativity, resilience, and problem-solving, rather than deficits.

Kathy Thomas - The study emphasizes that acknowledging these enhanced skills can lead to reduced stigma and better outcomes in education and employment for those with neurodevelopmental conditions. The team’s findings encourage a systematic review to further explore and validate the unique abilities associated with neurodiversity.

Key Facts:

Diverse Skills Recognized: The study identifies a variety of strengths across conditions like Williams syndrome, dyslexia, and ADHD, including enhanced social skills, creativity, and resilience.

Call for Perspective Shift: The researchers advocate for a change in societal attitudes towards neurodevelopmental conditions, focusing on the positives.

Potential for Societal Benefits: Recognizing and celebrating these skills could reduce stigma and improve social inclusion, educational, and employment outcomes for

Creativity, resilience and problem-solving are just some of the strengths exhibited and a study is now calling for a change in the way we think about people with neurodevelopmental conditions.

Dr Edwin Burns, senior lecturer from the School of Psychology at Swansea University, worked with academics from Edge Hill University on the study and their findings have just been published by online journal Neuropsychologia.

The researchers say people with these conditions are almost always discussed in terms of the problems that they face.

They are often characterised by a range of associated cognitive impairments in, for example, sensory processing, facial recognition, visual imagery, attention, and coordination.

However, Dr Burns said: “We would say that if only the wider public were aware that these groups exhibit many strengths and skills – some which are actually enhanced compared to the general population – then this should reduce stigma and improve their educational and employment outcomes.”

For the study, the team identified a wide variety of skills exhibited in different groups such as Williams syndrome, dyslexia, autism, ADHD, developmental coordination disorder, aphantasia.

These skills include improved social skills, creativity, problem-solving, resilience, and visual search.

The research also puts forward reasons why these skills occur such as genetics, experience adapting to the environment, repurposing the brain, and medication.

Dr Burns added: “In our research we present a table of potential strengths across conditions, and we hope that this may act as a stimulus for a major systematic review in the future. This should help reduce the stigma around neurodiversity, instead promoting greater social inclusion and significant societal benefits.” - Source: neurosciencenews.com

Did you know?

Interested

People who are neurodivergent are often very creative, have better focus, are topic experts, are more loyal and honest, are more understanding and are more interested in social issues.



STATS:

Neurodiversity in the population

90% of disabilities are invisible.

5% of the population have ADHD.

1-2% of the population is Autistic.

10% of the population are dyslexic.

5% of the population are dyspraxic.

1-2% of the population have Tourette Syndrome.

14% of the population have mental health needs.