Gifted Difference - Embracing Neurodiversity

I have been inspired to write this post after reflecting on some of my gifted friends and acquaintances.

The gift they posses is being their unique selves. What makes each of them unique is the way they think, process information, and create.

ADHD and Dyslexia are conditions that were traditionally pathologized. Thankfully, there is definitely a trend towards greater acceptance and understanding of neurological differences and that we are all different, with brain differences that are entirely normal.

I like to think that I am able to use my left brain and right brain functioning but being honest, I'm naturally more left brain dominant i.e. analytical, logical and methodical.

My gifted friends appear to be more right brained dominant, and I'm blown away and humbled by their awesome creativity and ability to think outside the box.

I recall one experience with someone I now consider a good friend. We were attending a training programme together and whilst I was scribbling down pages and pages of notes trying to record all the key points covered during the training, he was literally recording the course notes in pictorial form. He drew the most amazing sketches capturing the key points and learnings.

I have had the privilege of working with some truly amazing people gifted with ADHD and Dyslexia. Their ability to be creative both in terms of thinking and in design concepts is really incredibly valuable.

For me, organisations should really seriously look at how neurodiverse their organisations are, and how best to make them more neurodiverse because the value add this bring to the business is incredible.

Time to embrace neurodiversity and those gifted with neuro-superpowers!