Reflections on the Disclosure of Neurodiverse Conditions
By Adam King
Word Count: 493
Time to Read: 2 minutes 25 seconds
During the past academic year, I’ve had the privilege of serving as the Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) Lead for the Post-Graduate Research (PGR) faculty. Our focus has been on neurodiversity. In this blog, I’ll briefly discuss a couple of key issues I believe are facing the neurodiverse community and how the University of Salford is addressing them.
When I assumed the role in the PGR team’s EDI research, I adhered to our collective ethos by immersing myself in literature. What emerged as a recurring theme is the reluctance of students to disclose their neurodiversity (Chrysochoou et al., 2022; Clouder et al., 2020).
Further reading highlighted a significant challenge: shifting the narrative on neurodiversity from cognitive deficits to cognitive assets. This reframing views neurodiverse individuals not as lacking something compared to neurotypicals but as possessing distinct advantages.
For instance, among the plethora of literature I explored, only a fraction addressed neurodiversity as a cognitive asset. Of the twenty-three neurodiverse conditions I explored, I found four Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) articles (Castellanos et al., 2006; Glazer, 2009; Memmert, 2009; White & Shah, 2011), three Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) articles (Baron-Cohen et al., 2009; Happé & Vital, 2009; Shah & Frith, 1993), and two Dyslexia articles (Diehl et al., 2014; von Karolyi, 2001) that focused on the respective neurodiverse conditions as cognitive assets. Nine articles from twenty-three conditions.
The fact that ADHD and ASD have “Disorder” in their names further demonstrates how neurodiversity suffers from a cognitive-deficit approach. Initially, I believed that encouraging neurodiverse individuals to disclose their condition could catalyse a shift. More disclosures could normalise neurodiversity, facilitate access to necessary support, and increase academic recognition of neurodiverse individuals’ assets, potentially spurring further research. However, conversations with PGR leaders and other EDI leads challenged my perspective. As a neurotypical individual, it’s easy to advocate for disclosure. Yet, I’ve come to realise the anxieties neurodiverse individuals may harbour about disclosure should they perceive their environment as still entrenched in a cognitive-deficit mindset.
My viewpoint has since evolved. While I still value disclosure, I now recognise the paramount importance of a supportive environment. Considering the academic environment, two areas come to mind. Firstly, my approach to individuals discussing their neurodiversity: striving for an asset-first approach. Secondly, the efforts of university staff within the PGR community to create an inclusive environment. From my experience, both demonstrate sincere attempts.Where do we go from here? Despite our efforts, is the PGR environment still suboptimal for encouraging more declarations of neurodiversity, or should neurodiverse individuals be disclosing more, knowing that the environment is supportive? To quote Kate Tempest, I pose this question more poetically, “Do you come from the city or does the city come from you?”
I cannot answer this question at this time. Perhaps I will never be able to answer this question as I do not have the necessary lived experience. However, hopefully, by posing this question, I can help facilitate the much-needed discussion in our community.
About the Author
Adam King, a second-year PhD candidate in the School of Health and Society, studies Media Psychology with a focus on exploring the psycholinguistic manifestations and implications of race representation within English Football’s YouTube Fan Channels.
Beyond his doctoral studies, Adam serves as an Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) lead for the University of Salford’s Postgraduate Research (PGR) Department. In this role, he investigates the potential obstacles that neurodiverse PGRs may encounter during their viva examinations.
Further Reading
Some Further Info & References from the Author
- Baron-Cohen, S., Ashwin, E., Ashwin, C., Tavassoli, T., & Chakrabarti, B. (2009). Talent in autism: hyper-systemizing, hyper-attention to detail and sensory hypersensitivity. Philosophical transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B. Biological sciences, 364(1522), 1377-1383. https://doi.org/10.1098/rstb.2008.0337
- Castellanos, F. X., Sonuga-Barke, E. J. S., Milham, M. P., & Tannock, R. (2006). Characterizing cognition in ADHD: beyond executive dysfunction. Trends in cognitive sciences, 10(3), 117-123. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tics.2006.01.011
- Chrysochoou, M., Zaghi, A. E., & Syharat, C. M. (2022). Reframing neurodiversity in engineering education. Frontiers in education (Lausanne), 7. https://doi.org/10.3389/feduc.2022.995865
- Clouder, L., Karakus, M., Cinotti, A., Ferreyra, M. V., Fierros, G. A., & Rojo, P. (2020). Neurodiversity in higher education: a narrative synthesis. Higher education, 80(4), 757-778. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10734-020-00513-6
- Diehl, J. J., Frost, S. J., Sherman, G., Mencl, W. E., Kurian, A., Molfese, P., . . . Pugh, K. R. (2014). Neural correlates of language and non-language visuospatial processing in adolescents with reading disability. NeuroImage (Orlando, Fla.), 101, 653-666. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuroimage.2014.07.029
- Glazer, E. (2009). Rephrasing the madness and creativity debate: What is the nature of the creativity construct? Personality and individual differences, 46(8), 755-764. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2009.01.021
- Happé, F., & Vital, P. (2009). What aspects of autism predispose to talent? Philosophical transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B. Biological sciences, 364(1522), 1369-1375. https://doi.org/10.1098/rstb.2008.0332
- Memmert, D. (2009). Noticing Unexpected Objects Improves the Creation of Creative Solutions-Inattentional Blindness by Children Influences Divergent Thinking Negatively. Creativity research journal, 21(2-3), 302-304. https://doi.org/10.1080/10400410802633798
- Shah, A., & Frith, U. (1993). Why Do Autistic Individuals Show Superior Performance on the Block Design Task? Journal of child psychology and psychiatry, 34(8), 1351-1364. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1469-7610.1993.tb02095.x
- von Karolyi, C. (2001). Visual-Spatial Strength in Dyslexia: Rapid Discrimination of Impossible Figures. Journal of learning disabilities, 34(4), 380-391. https://doi.org/10.1177/002221940103400413
- White, H. A., & Shah, P. (2011). Creative style and achievement in adults with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder. Personality and individual differences, 50(5), 673-677. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2010.12.015