From Neurodiversity to Neuroinclusion

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On a recent Body Talk podcast , Alina Jenkins met with John Boileau to discuss neurodiversity and neuroinclusion. John has been with the NHS for 20 years with a background in transformation and change. He currently works for The NHS Transformation Unit, which works in partnership with other NHS organisations to transform health and care outcomes for people and communities. Over the past two years, John has led programmes of work related to neurodiversity, in addition to recently being diagnosed with ADHD himself, at the age of 41.

We’re seeing more and more adults being diagnosed with neurodivergent conditions. Our CEO, Richard Newman, was diagnosed with autism in his 40s. John says, “A lot of it confirms what you already know.” He says he looks back at his experiences at university and some of his first couple of jobs with a lens of ADHD, and it explains a lot. He acknowledges that it’s an emotional journey. While he’s grateful for the diagnosis, he has also had days when he felt lost, wondering how he could’ve learned this about himself halfway through his life. He also felt excitement, knowing he could learn more about himself, read books, and research ADHD. He says it’s natural to feel euphoric, pleased, upset, and even totally neutral, depending on the day.

Judy Singer coined the term “neurodiversity” in 1998 to describe “the idea that people experience and interact with the world around them in many different ways; there is no one ‘right’ way of thinking, learning, and behaving, and differences are not viewed as deficits,” according to Harvard Health Publishing .

There’s a tendency to refer to neurodiversity as either a weakness or a superpower, but the truth is, it’s just a fact. Neurodiversity doesn’t define a person. However, we can acknowledge that all diversity is beneficial. Diversity encourages different approaches, priorities, and thought processes.?

“The more diverse that your teams are, that’s what brings the strength.”

One of the benefits of the increased diagnosis of neurodivergence is that workplaces can make adjustments to better serve their employees, equipping them to function comfortably and efficiently, which is ultimately beneficial for both companies and employees. In a traditional office setting, some rules around hours and location put many people, but particularly neurodivergent people, at a disadvantage.?

For John, he knows that because of his ADHD, he needs to support himself by having notes and time to process in order to speak about certain projects and meetings. With his workplace’s understanding, he’s able to make them aware of this and gain their support. For some people, they may need a desk of their own to keep their things in order and prevent distraction.?

John gives a wonderful analogy about left-handedness. For the longest time, there was a stigma to being left-handed. Alina is left-handed, and she had teachers in school who tried to force her to become right-handed, which was obviously unreasonable. This is the result of hundreds of years of conditioning. People were once killed for being left-handed. It’s taken this long for left-handedness to not be stigmatised. Now we understand that there is nothing fundamentally wrong with being left-handed. We don’t really think about left-handedness anymore. We just accept that people are a little bit different.?

This is not to minimise the challenges that a neurodivergent person might have, but there is a parallel in that we don’t need to view people with neurodivergence as having characteristics that are massive challenges and deficits to their ability to be good employees and people.?

It’s important for employers to think about neurodiversity for many reasons. Yes, there are moral and legal obligations that businesses have in order to prevent discrimination. It’s also beneficial to think about the fact that organisations that are not open to becoming more neuroinclusive are severely limiting potential employees that could make great additions to their teams.?

If organisations can think about what they do through a neurodivergent lens, that intentionality can go a long way. It can be as simple as saying: we’re not a perfect organisation, but we’re learning, and we’re open to conversations about neurodiversity. Please talk to us about anything you might need.?

John brings up that adjustments are made quite easily when it comes to the customer. The same care should be taken when it comes to making adjustments for employees.

Take a look at your organisation. What can you do to become more neuroinclusive?

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