BBC Focus - 03.2020

FEATURE INTERVIEW

“ADHDcan makeyoufeel

lost, and socanautism, but

together, somehow, you

find yourway through.

It’s almost like magic”

2 isoftena treasureinthenext.That’sactually

kindofnice,becauseit givesusthatwiggle-

roomweneedandthatopen-mindednesstosay,

youknowwhat?Let’scutourselvessome slack.

If it’snotworking,it’snotworking.

Weareallevolving,andtobeabletoevolve

togetheris great,buttoevolveseparatelyand

throughdifferentmeansis alsogreat. It’s our

energetic potential as people.

YOU’VEMENTIONEDNEURODIVERSITY,WHICH
ISOFTENCOMPAREDAGAINSTNEUROTYPICAL.
CANYOUEXPLAINWHATTHESETERMSMEAN?
Peoplecommonlyreferto‘neurotypical’as
someonewhois notyetdiagnosedwitha
mentalhealthvariance.I don’tcallit disorder,
becauseI believe it is clearly imposed by
environment.
Neurodiversityis a termthatis quiteclosely
relatedtoautism,ADHD,bipolarand
schizophrenia;allthosedifferenttypesof
psychologicalimpositionsthatcanaffectyou.
Whatyoufindwiththesementalhealth
variancesis thata lotofthestrugglesthat
peoplehave,aremainlydue to the intolerances
oftheirenvironment.
If leftalone,I’mnormal.I’mfine.Happyas
Larry.Butif I hadtositat mydeskina certain
wayallday,I’dgoabsolutelynuts.I actuallysit
undermydesk– I’vegota standingdesk– and
I readthere.Thepeopleat myworkarevery
acceptingofthat.So,whatI’dwanteveryone
toknowaboutneurodiversity, is to just accept
andembraceit.
Honestly,I thinkeveryoneis neurodiverse.
Eventhoughyoutrytobesquare,you’renot
square.I’mverysorrytotellyou,it doesn’t
exist.Youarea speciesonthisplanetandyou
aresubjecttoevolution.You’regoingtoevolve
buttoadmittothat,andtobehaveasyour
naturalself,is sometimesquite hard with these
kindofsocialconstraints.
So,neurodiversityis somethingwe’reall
facedwith.Someofusjustknowhowtohideit
better,becausetheyeitherfeelit less,or maybe
becausethey’remorescared.Tobe
neurodiverseandtoshowit,thatis actually
verybrave,andtakesa lotofguts.
Youhavetoknowhowtotrainit,touseit,
andnotbehinderedbyyoubeinganoddshape.
It’seasytofeelsqueezedandtrapped.I’m
speakingfrommypersonalexperienceand
everyone who has a diagnosed mental health