The Value Of Neurodiversity

Why Are We Neuro Diverse?

Dr. Ian C E Hale Ph.D. WAMS?

I was asked a while back if cats or dogs could be neuro-diverse. Asperger’s, Schizophrenic, ADHD, Autistic and the rest. Frankly I suspected the answer was “yes”, but didn’t know. This piece is to answer that question. Those who are neurodiverse, like myself-and maybe you, or someone you know might value this .....

The Theory of Evolution says that nature weeds out the weak/unfit of any species by preventing them from having children, so the strongest, most species survival-friendly genes are those which get passed on through the generations. So then, how is it that something which the modern world calls a “Disability”, makes a person somehow a lesser person, a person of little or no importance, a “retard”, gets passed on down? Clearly, it must have a species survival imperative which makes it so important.

We are discouraged socially and, in many cases, legally and/or abusively from having relationships and children. How have we come to so discriminate against a group of people which our own science tells us must be important-otherwise there would be no neurodiverse people now. Diversity (including neuro, brain/thinking diversity in species means resilience to whatever nature throws at us. In Darwinian terms “Diversity = survival”. In religious ones, Einstein summed it up perfectly “God does not play dice with the Universe”. In other words, diversity is essential.?Unless it was of great value neurodiversity would have died out hundreds or more generations ago. I write as a Prof of Neurodiversity and a member of both Mensa and The World Academy of Medical Science, specializing in neurology and genetics. What could those positive survival traits which neurodiverse people (NDs) have which have guaranteed our s urvival be? Let’s look at a few:

• ?In our early days, we lived in the trees, jungles, and small family communities, roaming for food and shelter wherever we could. NDs often have reversed sleeping patterns, being asleep by day and awake in the dark. In those days of pre-civilization, most predatory animals and other tribes attacked by night. Snakes, crocodiles, dog packs, the big cats like saber-toothed tigers. Having naturally alert night guards was a vital part of the community’s survival. It was the NDs who were the Shamans and Medicine men or women, which held together the community Spirit of the Tribe. That neurodiverse people always have at least one hyper-developed sense, most often hearing, it only improved their value as the GUARDS. It allowed those small groups to grow, become more settled, which led to the first villages, towns then full cities. The story of neurodiversity is the story of civilization and progress to today’s age of technology and mass communication. “The Global Village”.
• Over the last 35 or so years governments, corporations and science have studied the personality traits of NDs compared with normal people. They have found NDs to be:
• More innovative-most of the great thinkers and artists are/were ND. Einstein, JFK, Da Vinci, Elon Musk, Steve Jobs, the great code-breaker and computer pioneer, Alan Turing, Physicists Nikola Tesla and Hugh Everett III, Virginia Woolf, poets Emily Dickinson and Emily Post, Jane Austen, film stars, Bill Murray, Anthony Hopkins, and Darryl Hannah, to name a handful only. The reason is, that having a different brain, both physically and chemically means NDs see, feel and experience the world and its problems in a unique way.

So, we come up with unique solutions to problems because of our unique way of thinking from having “Different model brains”, and enhanced senses, we have ideas others don’t and see different ways of achieving goals, often more efficiently. One such example is the Irish genius Walter O’ Brien, whose life is the subject of the TV show “Scorpion”. He’s a real person. “Scorpion” was his internet handle. He hacked NASA’s database at age 11.

• ND people have been found to be more honest, more loyal, make stronger friendships, work harder, are more productive, and concentrate better than normal people. Laser-focused.
• ?NDs are more systematic and organized, we are always on time.
• NDs are largely incapable of lying or hiding the truth, so are more likely to report workplace malpractice or potential problems to employers. We are also more likely to question existing practices in all areas of life, where we see it can be improved or is unfair or outdated. NDs have a very strong sense of justice, it was noted.
• ?NDs are brilliant at recognizing patterns, whether in behavior or in numbers. This makes many of them ideal for computer programming jobs, cybersecurity, stock, and planning control, and for codes. It is no accident that the world’s top intelligence services actively seek NDs to become agents and security team members GCHQ, MI5 and 6 in the UK advertise for such people in the newspapers and online. NDs were the Guardians of early times and are the Guardians of today as well.
• NDs often have great memories, especially for detail, making them invaluable in police work, quality control jobs, archeology, data analysis, and pathology work. Photographic memory.

Aside from Intelligence agencies, IBM, HPE, Microsoft, Apple, SAP actively recruit NDs. Genius hunting and career development for such organizations is in part, what I do as a consultant.

Aspiritech, the US software and quality assurance (QA) testing non-profit has gone further still. Its entire workforce is made up of people on the autism spectrum. Founders Brenda and Moshe Weitzberg set up the business in 2008 after their autistic son Oran was turned away from many jobs.

“Our clients benefit from an affordable, US-based, highly skilled solution for their QA testing needs,” says Brad Cohen, Chief Marketing Officer. “The staff gain a well-paying job in a suitable environment that supports their long-term employment. Everyone gains when people are given the opportunity to use their skills for meaningful, well-paying work that leads to a fully independent life.”

The benefits are long-term as well; Aspiritech has a retention rate of 95 percent and team leaders and managers are hired from within the organization.

?Brad Cohen has got it right: the lesson is that to get the best from the talents and traits of NDs an employer needs to ask NDs what kind of environment they need and adapt their workplace to fit. Most of us a very sensitive to all sensory stimuli, so a low light, low noise space is vital. We don’t like crowds, so need our own space-and HR support to manage such things as finance, housing, paying bills, shopping etc, as we tend to focus so hard on tasks, we forget the basics of life and we are not good at everyday social communication-explaining what we need or how we feel.

This makes dealing with bureaucracy and other such tasks very hard, especially as so many of us are dyslexic as well. It’s not hard for employers to do that-MI5 do it brilliantly, as does Microsoft.

So why don’t other employers do that? Why do so many still refuse ND applications? The answer is a combination of ignorance and prejudice-both of which should be both illegal and unacceptable in the 21st Century. Of course, now there are the neurodiversity programmes designed to help us get employment. Great intention, but it's all about the implementation. About us, with us? We should all be at the table. Talk to us, not at us. Right?

There are numerous other too, advantages, for greater detail, check out The Harvard Business Review Magazine - April 2017, Austin & Pisaro.?

Which brings us back to the original question of dogs and cats…

?A huge 2017 ring-sourced study drawing from several disciplines by the famous Dr. Emily Casanova and her team from South Carolina University department of clinical studies both provided the answer to our question and shocked the world.

Their report found that the genes which create neurodiversity are mainly of a very specific type. Long-chain, double protein sequences of principally Guanine and Thymine (basic cell building blocks)- (National Human Genome Research Institute). Such long, simple sequences indicate 3 things:

1)???ND is very old - before us, before chimps, elephants, mammoths, birds, rats, dinosaurs, and fish. In fact, at least 375 MILLION years old when the first types of complex life evolved from simple 2 and 4 cell creatures.

?2)???Such basic genes are very, very strong and are found in every form of life. So, if you suspect your cat, dog, hamster, is ND-you’re probably right. That applies to fish, birds, butterflies, and so on down.

3)???These findings give us a striking new insight into the value and importance of Neurodiversity. It is the very BEDROCK and FOUNDATION of intelligent life on Earth. That happened and grew not in spite of Neurodiversity, but BECAUSE of it, and THAT is why it has survived for so many million years and why it should be not only accepted but applauded and nurtured. Being ND means you shaped this world and will shape its future too. ND binds Humanity and nature together, I wish more people both understood and respected that fact. Yes, in some areas, mainly social we are disabled, in other areas, we are super-abled. Not disabled, folks, “differently-abled”.

? Ian C E Hale 2021.

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