Signs your loved one might be NeuroDivergent
There are many ways a person can be NeuroDivergent, and sometimes single people can be NeuroDivergent in multiple ways. Because of this, no two people will experience what it is like to be NeuroDivergent in the same way. Still, there are some common experiences (and traits) that many NeuroDivergent people share.
Spikey skills and abilities profiles
NeuroDivergent children have different brain experiences than their peers, who are considered "average" by our current society's standards. This means we may be exceptionally gifted in areas (such as art, technology, and memorization) while struggling with tasks our peers can easily do (such as self-care, attentiveness, and fine motor control).
NeuroDivergent children may also excel in one or two academic areas (and may even be in gifted or advanced placement, while struggling to grasp the basics in other subjects that are not well suited to their natural skillsets and interests.
For example, someone who is Dyslexic may struggle with reading but may excel in art or math. In contrast, someone with Dyscalculia may struggle with math but do well in other areas. This may also look like "selective interest" or "refusal to apply oneself in non-preferred areas," even if a NeuroDivergent person is doing their best with the skills and support they currently have.
Be careful NOT to say things like "if you would only apply yourself" or "try harder next time" or any comments that assume your loved one wasn't already trying their hardest. (Because our best is all we can give, and being told our best isn't good enough is demoralizing).
a dandelion blowing away in the wind with white text in the foreground that reads: I wish my the adults in my life could have known... Could your child or loved one be NeuroDivergent? What to look for, and how you can best support the NeuroDivergent young people you care about.
Different communication, learning styles, or comprehension
NeuroDivergent people's differences are cognitive, often invisible, and impact how we interpret and engage with the world, process information, emotions, sensory information, and interact and communicate with others. Some NeuroDivergent people also experience neurological differences in how they experience and express movement.
These differences often impact the way NeuroDivergent people communicate, learn, understand, and engage with the world around us.
NeuroDivergent people may be early speakers, late speakers, situational speakers, unreliable speakers, minimal speakers, or people who never speak with our mouths. We may also be hyperverbal speakers who seem never to stop talking.
NeuroDivergent people may have impeccable, photographic, or long-term memory. Still, we may struggle with working memory, executive functioning, and the memory required to remember if we've done what we should be doing or packed everything we need to do our homework after school.
NOTE: This can create problems and misunderstandings in school and other situations, where people assume laziness or bad intent, blaming us instead of supporting us.
Trouble in school or at daycare
Because NeuroDivergent children have different developmental milestones than their "NeuroTypical" peers, this can create problems in school or daycare when teachers and caregivers unfairly place NeuroTypical expectations on kids with NeuroDivergent brains.
Additionally, the spikey skills profiles mentioned previously also can cause NeuroDivergent kids to be perceived inaccurately, leading people to either overestimate their abilities (if people notice more of our strengths and skills), ignoring our struggles, OR we may be underestimated (if people notice more of our struggles and weaknesses) ignoring our strengths and abilities.
For example, if a NeuroDivergent child is gifted in vocabulary and is only three years old but is speaking in complete sentences, with adult-like speech, and sounds like a little professor but struggles with emotional regulation or toilet training, In that case, they may be perceived as "knowing better," while other kids of the same age, who don't have spikey skills may be treated more compassionately.
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