neurodiversity

Neurodiversity is the range of discrete variations in the nervous systems of individuals across the population, particularly in ways that are manifested in clusters of non-standard behaviors.

Neurodiversity includes conditions such as ADHD (attention-deficit hyperactive disorder), the autism spectrum, chronic and acute anxiety, depression and obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). The term neurodiversity paradigm is often used when referring to an alternative way of thinking about neurological differences in contrast to the medical model, which sometimes categorizes minority neurological variants as "disorders."

As recognition grows about the strengths a diverse workforce can bring to a business, the topic of neurodiversity has begun to be included in many diversity training initiatives. The emphasis is on recognizing that people with non-standard neurological wiring may also possess unique strengths and abilities that can help a company create value.

The neurodiversity movement was developed, at least in part, to remove any stigma attached to variations by defining them as neurotypes. An individual whose neurological makeup has no identifiable variation from the cultural norm is categorized as neurotypical (NT). Given the number of identifiable ways that people can differ in their neurologically-based traits, however, some critics of the neurodiversity movement point out that the brain is so complex, that when it comes to mapping how the human brain is wired, no one is truly neurotypical.