BBC Science Focus - 03.2020

FEATURE INTERVIEW

“ADHDcan make you feel

lost, and so can autism, but

together, somehow, you

find your way through.

It’s almost like magic”

2 isoften a treasure in the next. That’s actually

kind of nice, because it gives us that wiggle-

room we need and that open-mindedness to say,

you know what? Let’s cut ourselves some slack.

If it’s not working, it’s not working.

We are all evolving, and to be able to evolve

together is great, but to evolve separately and

through different means is also great. It’s our

energetic potential as people.

YOU’VE MENTIONED NEURODIVERSITY, WHICH
IS OFTEN COMPARED AGAINST NEUROTYPICAL.
CAN YOU EXPLAIN WHAT THESE TERMS MEAN?
People commonly refer to ‘neurotypical’ as
someone who is not yet diagnosed with a
mental health variance. I don’t call it disorder,
because I believe it is clearly imposed by
environment.
Neurodiversity is a term that is quite closely
related to autism, ADHD, bipolar and
schizophrenia; all those different types of
psychological impositions that can affect you.
What you find with these mental health
variances is that a lot of the struggles that
people have, are mainly due to the intolerances
of their environment.
If left alone, I’m normal. I’m fine. Happy as
Larry. But if I had to sit at my desk in a certain
way all day, I’d go absolutely nuts. I actually sit
under my desk – I’ve got a standing desk – and
I read there. The people at my work are very
accepting of that. So, what I’d want everyone
to know about neurodiversity, is to just accept
and embrace it.
Honestly, I think everyone is neurodiverse.
Even though you try to be square, you’re not
square. I’m very sorry to tell you, it doesn’t
exist. You are a species on this planet and you
are subject to evolution. You’re going to evolve
but to admit to that, and to behave as your
natural self, is sometimes quite hard with these
kind of social constraints.
So, neurodiversity is something we’re all
faced with. Some of us just know how to hide it
better, because they either feel it less, or maybe
because they’re more scared. To be
neurodiverse and to show it, that is actually
very brave, and takes a lot of guts.
You have to know how to train it, to use it,
and not be hindered by you being an odd shape.
It’s easy to feel squeezed and trapped. I’m
speaking from my personal experience and
everyone who has a diagnosed mental health