Questioning seperating Neurotypicals and Neurodivergent People
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[00:00:00] Welcome to the Neurotribe, the podcast where authenticity meets empowerment. Your host, Teresa, is a certified business executive and life coach navigating the intricate tapestry of neurodiversity. She's someone blessed with ADHD and dyslexia and gifted a widow and a mother to four incredible neurodiverse children.
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Join us on this unfiltered journey where no topic is too challenging, [00:01:00] no triumph too small. Let's unravel the layers of our community's experiences, embracing the struggles, celebrating the gifts, and finding empowerment and authenticity in every episode. And let's start right now.ā€‹hey friends. Welcome back. I am so excited to have you be part of our neuro tribe community. Welcome welcome. And. Let's get into it here.
I love to be transparent and talk about things head on. So this is what I'm going to do. I had a podcast and YouTube that I did of weeks ago, I guess it was actually a few months ago. It's called opinions. And oddly enough, in that video, I had a lot of opinions. That were messaged to me. And some of them were actually posted right on my YouTube.
I did end up. [00:02:00] Deleting some of them, because some of them just didn't need to be public. But a lot of people had opinions about what I said and who I am as a. It's so interesting because I don't know how you can really know who I am as a person by watching a few videos. Cause every. A lot of layers to them. I said in the video was opinions. Like onions. There's a lot of layers to them, but when you get to more of an opinion, More often than not. It's a judgment. And what. Challenge if you want. Be in the place of judgment and. It's you get to choose whether you do or you don't, it's totally up to you. I like to challenge people. Like to get people to think of things in different. Areas and different ways and really ask [00:03:00] themselves, do I want to think this, believe this judge in this way with intention and that's what I was doing. One of the things that I said in the video is when you group people together, Usually grouping people together can come off as a judgment.
And a lot of people didn't like that. They didn't like the fact that I said, I want you to start looking at even grouping neurotypicals and neurodivergent individuals. Together. Is that a judgment? And do you want to be judging in that way? I'm going to tell you why, and I'm going to talk about it in a very different way.
So you guys really understand the thought that I had behind it. And. It's almost like a call to action, right?
Okay. So in general, the neuro-typical community is very [00:04:00] vastly behind on education. When it comes to neurodivergent individuals. Schools companies. In society in general are really behind on D E N. I. When it comes to the neurodivergent community. We are. I mean, I cannot tell you how many companies that I have talked to when it comes to D E N I N.
They don't even have neuro-diversity on their radar. It's not even a conversation that they are having. And then when you think about it in schools, they very much are separating. Neuro diverse individuals. Neuro-diverse kids. There is separate classes for their kids. There's separate programs for their kids.
There's pullout programs for the kids. Right. So. What that's teaching in society. Is two separate [00:05:00] neurotypicals and neurodivergent individuals. Also being so behind in society about. Really educating. Society neurotypicals in general or all people in general that.
There is a spectrum in every neuro-diverse community, right?
There's a spectrum and every neurodivergent diagnosis, for instance, one dyslexic person is not going to come. And be the same as another dyslexic person. There is a spectrum in dyslexia. There's four different kinds of dyslexia. There is a spectrum in ADHD. There are different kinds of ADHD. And then in the autism spectrum, it's called the autism spectrum for a reason. So you can have a lot of misconception and you can have a lot of [00:06:00] misunderstanding and a lot of old information. I'll give you an example. I can't tell you how many times I've heard someone say, well, you don't seem autistic.
You make really good eye contact. Friends. It's a spectrum. One autistic person might not like our eye contact while another does. It might be that you have one autistic person that is looking at you very deeply and looking in your eyes and reading so much into your eye expression, what your soul is saying. Your body expression, the way that your breath is, the way your heartbeat is every little micro expression.
And then you might have another autistic person who actually can concentrate better. And be more engaged in the conversation when they're not looking at you directly. And there might be fidgeting somewhere else or looking somewhere else. For me personally, sometimes it's [00:07:00] easier to look at someone and sometimes it's easier for me to not look at someone because I'm processing something very deeply about what they're saying.
So it kind of depends. I have actually had therapists that have said. When you talk to me, why are you looking away from me? And I had the hardest time. Explaining to them. It's because I'm thinking I'm processing, I'm engaging with you. But for me, it's easier to look away and think. Then to look straight at you. I have had people make comments on my videos of why are you looking at the camera the whole time? It's easier for me to look away and think and process to be able to deliver this information for you sometimes.
And that is exactly why I'm doing it. I don't feel like I need to mask and camouflage and pretend I am [00:08:00] someone. I am not. I am who I am. Take it or leave it. I like myself. It's okay. If you like me and it's okay. If you don't.
Going back to schools and education.
If you really think about generation after generation and how kids are being pulled out and put in. Different classrooms. Or different programs or they're pulled out of class to go to another class to learn. It is teaching kids from a very, very young age. To be different. To be othered to be grouped. And it's really not teaching inclusion. It's really not teaching diversity. It's really not equality.
It's very interesting to me. My son came home one day and he said, Mom. And he was telling me this [00:09:00] story about this kid. And he said, mom, this kid, he is in a different class because they are differently minded people.
The person that he was speaking about was an autistic person. My son speaking to me is an autistic person. So that just goes to show you. That even as an autistic person. He is being taught. That autistic people are different and they're differently minded. And that is what is being taught in the classroom. In public school.
It causes a separation in community.
It causes a separation between the neuro-typical community and the neurodivergent community. And without educating the vast majority of people, including neuro-typical people. On neurodiversity. What that does. Is it [00:10:00] further separates the community? And what will happen is when a neurodivergent individual wants to make friends or is looking for friends. It kind of makes it easier for them to find friends within the neurodivergent community. I am. Pure example of that.
I will throw myself under the bus. I have way more. Neurodivergent friends that get me and understand me and accept me for who I am as a whole person. Whereas I have had a lot of experience with neuro-typical people who find my traits as a neurodivergent individual. As burdensome. Or character flaws. Rather than this is part of who I am.
This is part of how my brain works. This is part of how I work within society. So really getting out there [00:11:00] and understanding who you are as a neurodivergent individual, accepting yourself fully and completely, and then going out there and advocating, speaking, using your voice is going to be. A very powerful thing for all of the neurodivergent community, for all of our future children, to be able to grow and thrive in the world.
Because if we keep separating ourselves and we keep othering ourselves and we keep having opinions about. The groups rather than pulling together and educating and meeting with kindness and compassion. And love. And acceptance. It's going to be harder and harder. For the two communities to really be able to come together. And.
I think that in general, With the neurodivergent community. We have so many gifts. To be able to [00:12:00] offer the world. It would be nice for us to have. More opportunity and less discrimination within our communities.
I'd really liked to make a positive change for the neurodiverse community. And I'd like to challenge you. Use your voice, you have a voice. And it needs to be heard. So if you are neurodivergent and you feel that you want neurotypicals to better understand your person or your diagnosis or your community, then speak out. Not in a way of, you need to understand me, but more of. Hey. This is the challenges that I face. And this is what can help me. And the more we have people that are approaching companies and approaching schools. And approaching communities and speaking out [00:13:00] about how we can better serve this underserved community.
I think the more positive change that we can have in the neuro diverse community.
In my opinion and yes, it is a judgment, but in my opinion, The positive change that we have as a community to grow moving forward for our kids and for our kids' kids. Is to rather than look at separating ourselves as the neurotypicals have done. It's moreover, how can we work together? As communities together. To make things. More manageable. To give more rights to neurodivergent individuals. And to lift up. The underserved community.
What I hope. Is that we can start using our voices in a positive way, in a positive manner. To be able to [00:14:00] lift our community up and make the playing field a little bit more even.
Your voice matters. I hope that this message helps you feel validated in your experience in life. And I hope that it inspires you. To share your story. To do your work to be able to truly love and accept yourself for who you are and realize that you are not othered, you belong and you have a place and you have a voice. I love you all. Take care. Bye.
Bye.
