This article is written by Jen, trainee Insolvency Examiner in the UK Civil Service.

  • The problem: Ableism.
  • Why it matters: Because it causes an arbitrary divide that hinders progress.
  • The solution: Recognise ableism so we can make meaningful changes and progress to an inclusive world where all diversity is accepted for the betterment of all humans.

I’m glad you’re here 😊 — let’s get started. You may have wondered what the terms ‘neurodiversity’ / ‘neurodivergent’ / ‘ND’ mean or encompass. Maybe you’ve never even heard of them! I’d not heard of the terms until about four years ago when I found out about my own neurodivergence.

Neurodiversity encompasses anyone whose brain works differently from the rest of the normative population. So, people that would be considered neurodivergent would be those who are autistic, ADHD, dyslexic, dyspraxic, have dyscalculia or Tourette’s. These are just some of the more common conditions, keeping in mind I’m not an authority on what the complete list looks like. A person can have more than one condition, which means that someone can be autistic, dyspraxic and have ADHD. These conditions can also co-occur with a mental or physical disability, but not always.

What many neurodivergent individuals share with those who have a disability or mental health problems is difficulty in admitting that we are different and require adjustments to do some things. This includes things at work, home, school, hospital and any other public spaces. Our safe space is usually our home IF we live on our own or live with people who are accepting and supportive.

Ableism is the issue

While out and about, all we ask for, whether we have a diagnosis or not (self-diagnosis is fully accepted in the neurodivergent community), is for others to be kind, fair, empathetic, understanding and think around things that we are not able to do in the regular way. As the saying goes, “there’s more than one way to skin a cat” — as awful as that saying is, the underlying reasoning remains. We do not expect things to be just handed over to us; in fact, many of us hate it when that happens.

💬 Let the author know what you think about navigating the public sector as a neurodivergent person by leaving a comment below

This usually comes from ‘ableism’ – externally from others or internalised ableism. Yes, both neurodivergent and neurotypical people generally have internalised ableism because of socialisation, which starts pretty much as soon as you’re born!

According to ucu.org.uk, ableism is an assumption that the physical, cognitive and sensory differences which some people live with are deficits; it’s rooted in the medical model of disability that assumes that disabled people need to be ‘fixed’. It manifests in physical, environmental and attitudinal barriers that exclude and stigmatise an entire group of people as ‘less than’.

Like so many neurodivergent people, justice and fairness are some of the things we wish there were more of, and that starts with us doing the work for ourselves.

What does ableism look like for a neurotypical person? An example: it’s when you look at doing a job/task in one specific way and think/have been told that it is the only way it can be done. This way may not be achievable for many others for a variety of reasons. So, thinking through how to remove this barrier for neurodivergent individuals/disabled/those with mental health issues will not just be something that can help them but can also help the rest of the population.

A real-life world example and my lived experiences

A specific real-life example (that I read about online and now can’t seem to find) is about the provision of interview questions prior to an interview. A company trialled it for ALL interviewees and had such a positive response that they adopted it as part of their recruitment process. A small tweak resulted in making it more accessible to all. Looking online, NSPCC has introduced this policy and it will hopefully become more prevalent in the third sector by spring/summer 2024. When I interviewed for a Trainee Examiner position in the Insolvency Service, I really had to push for access to this as it was refused initially. Many people who need this adjustment to give a good interview would have either not asked for it because of internalised ableism or have asked and been told ‘no’. They would then do the interview without that adjustment and subsequently lose out on getting the job because of a bad interview.

For me, understanding my internalised ableism has meant that I have stopped working against my brain and now proactively look for ways to do things that help my brain and mental health — I’m autistic and have ADHD (inattentive). I have difficulty socialising, especially when it comes to small talk — it makes me want to tear my hair out! I don’t understand the point and it’s usually very boring to me. So, to try and be social in my own way, I use my organising skills to plan events getting people together. In this kind of setting, where I lead, it’s easier for me to socialise in a very particular way, where I try to make people feel comfortable at the event or ensure that no one is being left out.

Generally, I am definitely better in a one-to-one or small group rather than in a big group. So now that’s how I socialise as it means that my brain can better cope instead of the big loud parties that I forced myself to go to.

Another example is when I had to complete my minor thesis in criminology; I procrastinated massively in even starting the draft. At the time, I thought it was procrastination and would beat myself up mentally about how I was unable to do things most people apparently do quite easily. None of the strategies online were working for me. My mental health was massively impacted.

Knowing what I now know, years later (yes, I did complete it and got my master's degree 😊), this is what I would have done instead: think through what needs to be done before the deadline and then, on the deadline day or a day before, put all those thoughts into a product. What I also would have done is get my mentor to give me deadlines for certain bits of the thesis, which would then break a massive project up into tiny bits. This helps me with focussing on a particular piece that needs to be written by a specific date and/or time and it also helps to trick my brain that the request is coming from someone in authority and, therefore, needs to be done. While this may not help those with PDA (pathological demand avoidance), it’s one of many different ways that a task can be tackled while also asking for it as a reasonable adjustment.

Moving forward

I can now choose how to move forward: focus on how much of my life I struggled with and existed as a rubbish (in my mind and according to most other people who probably felt that way about me) person incapable of things that many others can do OR I can focus on empowerment by healing myself and helping others.

I chose to do the latter because, like so many neurodivergent people, justice and fairness are some of the things we wish there were more of, and that starts with us doing the work for ourselves, helping others and hopefully finding neurotypical allies along the way.

My parting question to you: can you identify different ways of doing something that is currently part of your life? Feel free to post them in the comments.

More information about me: _I’ve predominantly worked in the public sector as helping people has always been something important to me. I believe that neurodiversity involves variations in the brain, which should be appreciated and nurtured because kindness is the best way forward. But if you want a logical reason — brain diversity helps to progress human evolution._😊

Done reading? Make sure to share your own thoughts on making effective provisions for neurodivergent people in the public sector by leaving a comment below ⬇️

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