What is NeuroDiversity?

Neurodiversity is a term originally coined by Australian sociologist, Judy Singer, in the late-1990s.

Judy has built on her original idea - which can be found here. Some of this material is reproduced below.

“Neurodiversity is a term that refers to an obvious and indisputable feature of Earth's biosphere.”

“Neurodiversity refers to the virtually infinite neuro-cognitive variability within Earth’s human population.  It points to the fact that every human has a unique nervous system with a unique combination of abilities and needs.”

“Neurodiversity is a subset of Biodiversity, a term mostly used for the purpose of advocating for the conservation of species.”

“The NeuroDiversity Movement

Despite there being no official definition or spokesperson for the movement, its consensual aims can be discerned. They are to:

• shift mainstream perceptions of marginalized NeuroMinorities

• replace negative, deficit-based stereotypes of NeuroMinorities with a more balanced valuation of their gifts and needs

• find valued roles for neurologically marginalized people

• show that all society benefits from the incorporation of NeuroMinorities.”

In the workplace it is the idea of inclusivity that extends to neurological differences, including hiring and retaining talent with neuro-variations such as autism, ADHD and dyslexia.

PREVALENCE OF Autism in the population

• In a study in the US in 2016, amongst children aged 8, prevalence of autism was estimated at 1 in 54. The prevalence was 1 in 34 for boys and 1 in 145 for girls - so boys were 4.3 times more likely than girls to be diagnosed as autistic.

• Studies in Asia, Europe, and North America have identified average prevalence of between 1% and 2%.

• There are 205,200 autistic Australians - with males 3.5 times more likely to be autistic than females and prevalence rates of 1.3% and 0.4% respectively

• Of the 106,600 autistic young Australians (aged 5 to 20 years) who were attending school or another educational institution, 78% reported experiencing difficulty at their place of learning. Of those experiencing difficulties, the main problems encountered were fitting in socially (60%), learning difficulties (55%) and communication difficulties (51%).

• In 2018, Autism Spectrum Australia estimated that about 1 in 70 people in Australia were autistic - or about 353,880 people - but only 40% were employed

• As at March 2018, 29% of active participants in the Australian National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) were autistic 

Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC): https://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/autism/data.html, Australia Bureau of Statistics (2018), Autism Spectrum Australia: https://www.autismspectrum.org.au/news/autism-prevalence-rate-up-by-an-estimated-40-to-1-in-70-people-11-07-2018, NDIS “Outcomes for participants with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)” (June 2018).

Amazing Things Happen - by Alexander Amelines

Alexander’s film gives an uplifting introduction to autism for young non-autistic audiences, aiming to raise awareness, understanding and tolerance in future generations.

LIVED EXPERIENCE

Beth Radulski, La Trobe University PhD Candidate & Project Officer: Neurodiversity, speaks about her lived experiences as an autistic learner and offers ideas on what society can do you be more inclusive for all neuro-types. (Note: The YouTube videos may not play in Safari.)

What are the neurodiverse variations?

Neurodiversity is a combination of traits that are seen as both strengths and challenges. Depending on the neurodiverse variation and its intensity, individuals can display strengths in different areas, including:

AUTISM   

• average to very high intelligence

• good verbal skills, rich vocabulary

• ability to think in visual images and identify patterns

• propensity to think outside the box and generate novel solutions to problems

• ability to absorb and retain large amounts of information, especially about topics of special interest

• detail oriented

• ability to focus for long periods on areas of interest

• ability to perform repetitive tasks where accuracy, rules  and routine are important

• reliability and punctuality

• honest, loyal, fair and just

• non-judgemental listening

DYSLEXIA

• improved visual processing and pattern recognition

• good spacial knowledge

• seeing the bigger picture, often seeing things more holistically

• mechanical aptitude

• picture thinkers

• sharper peripheral vision

• highly creative

• creativity and entrepreneurial proclivities

• 50% of NASA employees are dyslexic

ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder)

• hyper-focused

• higher levels of creativity and curiosity,

• innovation and inventiveness

• leadership abilities

• high energy, spontaneity and productivity

DYSPRAXIA

• creativity and original thinking

• good strategic thinking and problem-solving

• determination and hard-working

• highly motivated

• able to develop their own strategies to overcome difficulties

DYSCALCULIA

• creativity

• strategic and intuitive thinking

• practical ability

• problem solving

• love of words

DYSGRAPHIA

• good verbal reasoning

WORKPLACE EXAMPLES.

Autistic teams undertaking software-testing roles in an Australian Federal Government Department demonstrated 30% higher productivity over Neurodiversity-typical teams.

A team in another Government Department were provided with a significant backlog of firewall security event logs. The backlog was assessed as likely to take 18 months to clear. However, the new team were able to clear it in 4 months and redesigned the process at the same time.

Cyber security analysts start at a level one and normally progress to level two after five years. In some cases, in a new autistic team in an Australian bank, some trainee analysts were writing level two reports after only five months.

In early 2018, a major Australian bank commenced their Autism@Work Program. Their initial cohort of nine trainees were proficient four months earlier than expected, returning 12 months' value in five months and delivered an over 50% increase in productivity. In April 2019, the bank took on its second cohort of trainees. Within four months, this team had created detection rules in the security/intelligence tools used and moved from a process that was mainly manual to the automation of more than 78% of the process – resulting in an ongoing saving of hundreds of hours per month.

A team at an Australian Bank – dealing with access requests – were 26% more productive that neurotypical team within 2 months of commencement

A program implemented by JPMorganChase in the US demonstrated 48% higher productivity from a neurodiverse team when compared to a “neurotypical” team.  After three to six months working in one area of the bank, autistic workers were doing the work of people who took three years to ramp-up – and were even more than 50% more productive.

A study by Curtin University in 2016 found that employing autistic adults benefited employees, employers and their organisations without incurring additional costs.

A survey of co-workers of those in Autism At Work programs in Australia (as part of a larger longitudinal study by Olga Tennison Autism Research Centre) indicated strong conviction about the importance and value of such programs:

SOME STATISTICS.

In March 2014, the Wall Street Journal reported that 85% of autistic people in the US are unemployed or underemployed and 60% of them have cognitive abilities at or above those of neurotypical people. A 2016 study by the National Autistic Society in the UK arrived at a similar conclusion. A United Nations proclamation on World Autism Day 2016 estimated that more than 80% of autistic adults around the world are unemployed.

In Australia,

• the unemployment rate for autistic people is 31.6 per cent. This is three times the rate of people with disability, and almost six times the rate of people without disability.

• whilst more than half of autistic Australians would like a paid job, only one in three were currently in a paid role

• more than half of unemployed autistic Australians (53.9 per cent) had never held a paid job, despite often possessing the skills, qualifications and a strong desire to join the workforce

  (source: Amaze - study by the Centre for Health and Social Research and Australian Catholic University - 28 March 2019)

Autistic Australians were less likely to have an educational qualification beyond school.  Neuro-typicals were 4.4 times more likely to have a tertiary qualification whist people with disabilities were 2.3 times more likely to have one.