In this first article I would like to discuss Neurodiversity and what it is.
More and more employers are actively recruiting neurodiverse adults, as they recognise that they can bring different and powerful solutions to problems. Those with neurodiversity have been some of our greatest thinkers, especially in technology: Bill Gates, Emily Dickinson, Richard Branson, Steve Jobs, and Charles Darwin. Many can also be found in finance, food, and art, design and film: Charles Schwab, Jamie Oliver, Keira Knightley, Pablo Picasso, Whoopi Goldberg, Michelangelo, and Walt Disney.
Google will tell you ‘Neurodiversity describes the idea that people experience and interact with the world around them in many different ways; there is no one "right" way of thinking, learning, and behaving, and differences are not viewed as deficits’.
When it comes to a person’s abilities, we know it's common to have a range of strengths and difficulties. I prefer to see difficulties as differences, as one person’s difficulties in one situation can be a strength in another. A person who struggles to sit quietly in school may be described as having difficulties, but as a soldier this may be a valued skill, to be hyper alert.
In simple terms, there is more than one way of doing things. In life we know that some questions result in convergent and others divergent answers. Or that some questions have a single yes/no answer (convergent), and others can be more than one answer (divergent). Mathematical questions would normally have a wrong or right answer (being convergent), whereas, asking someone how they feel may result in varying responses: good, bad, okay, could be better (being a divergent response).
Neurodiversity is the collective name for many conditions which could be called special needs and you will see from the enclosed image that many conditions are included in the Neurodiversity fruit salad, and it's easy to have a little bit of this and that. All these are strengths which can be highly valued in the workplace. For example, GCHQ openly recruits people with autism and dyslexia being a valuable resource, being able to think ‘out of the box’.
Recently Edge Grove introduced the ‘pupil passport’ for many children, which is a co-production document to be shared internally with staff. Its aim is to highlight both a child’s strength and difficulties, along with the views of the child, and targeted strategies for teachers. This is part of a graduated approach to child support, working closely with parents.
Edge Grove offers a large range of extra curricular activities: sporty, craft, and some more academic. These aim at offering children a range of hobbies to harness their strengths.
Each week the Headteacher’s assembly celebrates the achievement of our children, from go karting, poetry, chess, to sport. So no matter the ability we want to hear about it!
At Edge Grove we believe all children are special, and have a range of strengths and difficulties, and this is okay, as it allows for growth and development. Developing resilience is important to be a life-long learner.
