This week I’m celebrating neurodiversity! From 17-23 March 2025, it is Neurodiversity Celebration Week which looks to challenge stereotypes and misconceptions about neurological differences.
Neurodiversity isn’t a label or a diagnosis or a ‘feel good’ term. It’s the idea that learning differences like dyslexia, dyspraxia, autism are all natural differences in the way we think. Not everybody is the same and learning how other people think can help clearer communication and anxiety.
Being neurodivergent myself, this week is a great opportunity to help raise awareness and to recognise our different minds, our learning differences and celebrate our many skills and talents!
My neurodivergence is dyslexia. It doesn’t define me, but it does explain the way I do things. I was about 8 years old, having just started junior school when teachers thought I may be dyslexic. I remember struggling with schoolwork especially reading and writing and feeling a little worried that I was finding everything harder than my friends at school. I felt like everyone thought I was being lazy – but things just took me a little longer.
Even today, if I mention I’m dyslexic to people who don’t know me, they assume that maybe I can’t read or write. I can by the way – I love content writing and wouldn’t be writing this blog or working in communications if I couldn’t. It may take me longer to write an article or put together a comms plan, but the extra time helps me to appreciate and understand what I’m writing about.
Being neurodivergent isn’t inherently a bad thing – it’s something that should be accommodated and celebrated and this is important for everybody. You might have neurodivergent friends, colleagues or family members or be neurodivergent yourself.
I’ve never let my dyslexia hold me back – my family put it down to sheer determination to prove myself and I put it down to a teacher at school who always told me that there was no such word as ‘can’t’ only ‘can’ if you believe in yourself.
I’m very happy to admit that my #superpower is being dyslexic. It makes me the creative, unique and organised person that I am.
If I was going to dispel one myth about being neurodivergent this week it would be don’t label it as a disability – it’s not, it’s a difference. Also don’t think it’s an age thing – it’s not. You don’t grow out of it. So my advice to anyone who’s tried to hide their neurodivergence as an adult would be to embrace it and re-visit your #SuperPower again and again – it not only helps you to think differently at work but also helps you to understand the reasons why you may do things and behave in certain ways. It also helps create awareness, so that you and the huge number of other people who are neurodivergent don’t have to ever hide it again! It can also help people (children and adults) who don’t yet have a diagnosis to go and get one…
#NeurodiversityCelebrationWeek #NCW #ThisIsND
If you want to read more about my story you can do so by clicking on my blog links below.
You can also find out more about Neurodiversity Celebration Week here: Neurodiversity Celelbration Week. 👁️🗨️
#MyWorld 