Today is the start of Neurodiversity Celebration Week - so what better time to discuss how we can be more inclusive in the workplace.

As a neurodiverse person myself, this week is a great opportunity to share some of my own experiences. I've been working at Good-Loop for a couple of years now, and through my time here I've felt empowered to be open and honest about the challenges I face.

I have ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder) - a condition that affects my behaviour and concentration - and this has an impact on me in the workplace.

I want to help others like me feel proud of themselves, and that's why Neurodiversity Celebration Week is so important.

What is Neurodiversity?

So, what is it? Put simply, neurodiversity refers to variations in the human brain that impacts sociability, learning, attention and various other mental functions.

In practice, neurodiversity celebration is a movement that aims to change the way we think about autism, ADHD, dyspraxia, dyslexia and other neurological conditions. The aim is to promote the idea that these conditions are the effect of natural and normal variations in the human brain.

Just like "neurotypical" people - that is, people who don't usually display autistic or other neurologically atypical patterns of thought or behaviour - every autistic person is different. It's a spectrum. Many people have neurodiverse traits that they're maybe unaware of, which is one of the major reasons it's so important for us to celebrate the natural diversity of our minds.

Source: Unsplash

Why Is Celebrating Neurodiversity So Important?

The reason it's so important to celebrate neurodiversity is essentially the same reason I believe it's so important to celebrate diversity as a whole - because being different is something to be proud of.

Being neurodivergent in the workplace can have its challenges. For instance, I personally sometimes struggle to understand speech without being able to lipread. This means that video meetings can be challenging if the other person has their camera switched off.

It can also prove difficult for a neurodivergent person to mesh well with polite coworkers who may be hesitant in giving criticism or direct feedback. Celebrating neurodiversity enables conversations with our coworkers that ultimately help us to understand and communicate much better with each other.

However, this doesn't mean neurodivergent people don't also have a lot of their own strengths when it comes to the workplace.

Having a unique perspective allows me to offer a point of view that's different to most, and allows me to think outside of the box for our products and campaigns, as well as how I relate to my peers.

How Can We Celebrate Neurodiversity In The Workplace?

Promoting neurodiversity acceptance in the workplace is nice, but if we want to create a truly accessible environment then it's important to ask staff how to best work with them according to their individual needs.

So it's great to be part of a company like Good-Loop, which has created an environment that allows neurodivergent staff to feel validated and valued.

One of the ways in which it does this is through its 'How To Work With Me' cards. This has empowered me to let colleagues know that I prefer written communications and video calling to audio calls, and that I need them to be clear and as literal as possible when communicating with me.

I want to thank all my amazing, proudly neurodiverse colleagues I've had the privilege of working with over the years. Their openness about their own neurodiversity has inspired me to be more outspoken about my own neurodivergence.

Neurodiversity in the workplace is absolutely something to celebrate, and Neurodiversity Celebration Week is an amazing opportunity for us to celebrate our uniqueness -- both for neurodivergent people and for those who work with us.

Let's celebrate our differences this #NeurodiversityCelebrationWeek!