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THE LABEL NEURODIVERSITY
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There is a debate as to exactly what neurodiversity is this has similarities with disability studies academics such as Barnes and Oliver defining exactly what disability is.
Other terms include, Specific Learning Differences, Multi-Specific Processing Differences (MSPD), Specific Learning Difficulties (SpLD). Neuro-developmental differences (NDD) and Autistic Spectrum Disorders.
DANDA include the Developmental Neuro-developmental differences Dyslexia, Dyspraxia, ADHD, ADD, Asperger Syndrome, dysclacula, and Tourette’s syndrome as ND. Where as Brain HE at Demontfort University also include depression stroke and head injuries and acquired neuro-developmental differences. Whereas many adults with autism in the UK,USA Australia and New Zealand consider ND to be Aspergers Syndrome and Autistic Spectrum disorders. Other disabilities are now jumping on the ND bandwagon as I have recently seen Downs Syndrome quoted as being part of ND.
It could be argued that all human being are neurologically unique whether they are Neuro-diverse or neuro-typical are not therefore every human being is neuro-diverse.
David Pollak & Edward Griffin (2007) at BrainHE carried out a survey with 20 neurologically diverse students and 4 neurologically diverse support staff. The sample of students and staff had a range of various learning differences including Acquired Dyslexia, Dyslexia, Dyspraxia, ADHD, ADD, Asperger Syndrome, Depression and Stroke. 14 of the student and staff interviewees had singular learning differences and 10 had multiple types of neurodiversity.
• All interviewees were given a medical label for their neurodiversity and most of them accept their label as being a part of them. The Medical Professions tend to focus on the negative aspects of neurodiversity and they use their own disempowering language to describe the label to their patients. Many of the interviewees have also adopted this language and use terms like ‘disability’ ‘problems’ ‘difficulties’ when talking about their neurodiversity.
• Prior to being labelled, most of the dyslexic and dyspraxic students were called ‘lazy’, students with ADHD were labelled as trouble makers and Aspies were called weird or ‘odd balls’
• Only a few of the interviewees have actively explored more empowering definitions of their types of neurodiversity. Should we be encouraging this?
The label a person is given is often what they have been diagnosed with first and often the whole picture is overlooked, instead of a holistic assessment identifying our strengths and sharing strategies for removing the disabling barriers we experience in a world where between 80% -90% of the population are ‘neurotypical’ . For example dyspraxia is diagnosed by a neurologist, ADHD and Asperger’s syndrome by a psychiatrist and dyslexia by an educational psychologist. It also depends on the speciality of each expert as to whether it is recognised at all. Often the real experts are those who live with ND.
A student in a dyspraxia email group gives her peers the following advice
“Don't let anyone tell you what you can and can not do under the
name dyspraxia!
Which is also relevant to all types of ND.
Finally, although it is important not only to have awareness of neurodiversity but to see a person who has the ND label as a unique and often talented individual rather than the limitations of the label ND.
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