Hello,

I can relate to this week’s discussion post because my younger cousin was diagnosed with autism and my brother was diagnosed with ADHD. My cousin was timid and took a while to find her voice and come out of her bubble, but she found a way to show herself by finding support by making TikTok videos and becoming involved in school activities. My older brother was always on the go and could never sit down and focus on one thing unless he was at work building as a carpenter or working on his mud truck. As a kid, he was given Ritalin to help calm him down and focus better, but in the end, he was taken off of it because it made him zombie-like, as an adult he put his focus on things that he loved, and both are very well integrated with today’s society and are very popular amongst family and friends. 

• Should individuals who are neurodiverse change themselves to conform to mainstream society? Why or why not?

Not all neurodiverse individuals should change themselves to conform to society unless they are comfortable with it and able to adapt. I have always believed that those who are neurodiverse will work things out to their liking when they feel it’s best for them or reach out for an extra helping hand.

• How does society benefit from different ways of thinking?

Looking at different variations in how people think and perceive the world should be considered a strength and not a weakness, society benefits from different ways of thinking by leading to innovation and creativity, when thinking differently you bring a different perspective and ideas that others wouldn’t think about on a regular basis, and it could add a better way of solving problems, even jobs nowadays are looking for more creative and out of the box thinking strategies.

• How can we move away from the stigma of neurodiversity being regarded as something to fix and toward an understanding of it as a normal variation of humanity?

I think a good way to redirect what people already know is by adding more information that leads into further depth to help people understand that just because you are a little different does not mean you are incapable of adjusting to everyday life and understanding how the world works for others. Change how we test for neurodiversity that makes it more understandable for the ones you don’t understand there’s a different way of seeing how things work. The more we learn about it and incorporate it into our everyday life as just a normal thing the better we can adapt to those that are different in one way or another.  

• How does the concept of neurodiversity apply to any of the following programmatic course themes:
  • Self-care
  • Social justice
  • Emotional intelligence
  • Career connections
  • Ethics

Neurodiversity can influence all the programmatic course themes, but really influences career connections, because it brings in people with out of the box thinking and most jobs are looking for those that can help bring in a different point of view to problem solving, and ideas. With different skillsets jobs have a chance to create opportunities and a friendly environment that recognizes their skillset to help be successful in their job field.

Crystal

Harper, J. (2023).  Psychology in the real world, 2nd ed. Soomo Learning

Then, for your initial post, answer the following questions:

• Should individuals who are neurodiverse change themselves to conform to mainstream society? Why or why not?
• How does society benefit from different ways of thinking?
• How can we move away from the stigma of neurodiversity being regarded as something to fix and toward an understanding of it as a normal variation of humanity?
• How does the concept of neurodiversity apply to any of the following programmatic course themes:
  • Self-care
  • Social justice
  • Emotional intelligence
  • Career connections
  • Ethics

Remember to respond to two peers while being respectful of and sensitive to their viewpoints. Consider advancing the discussion in the following ways:

• Post an article, video, or visual to reinforce a peer’s idea or challenge them to see their point from a different perspective.
• Engage in conversation with your peers around neurodiversity. Consider asking a question or sharing your own personal experience.