I was introduced to the term neurodivergence when I learned I was autistic (in my early 30s). Contrary to popular belief, neurodivergence is a concept that is much more widely applied than to just autism alone. Let me explain.

Is it neurodiversity or neurodivergence?

Neurodiversity is the general idea that there are many different neurotypes that exist within the human population. This term includes people who are considered to be neurotypical, or having a non-divergent neurotype.

The basic idea behind all of this is that those who are neurotypical are “normal” while those with different neurological configurations are “abnormal” or divergent.

What is a nuerotype?

Short answer, this is the way your brain is wired.

To give a little more detail, your brain is full of neurological pathways that allow your brain to function. These pathways are specialized to send and recieve messages that allows our brains to perform tasks like thinking, feeling, moving around, and managing our body’s systems.

There are thought to be tens of billions of neurons in our brain. This many neurons in one brain means that there’s a high chance of variation in how each individual person’s brain forms. These different formations can sometimes be grouped into different categories. Autism is one example of this (see below for more examples).

So, your neurotype is the specific way that your brain is configured. This configuration can be steady over your lifetime, and there are many ways that it can and will change over time.

Are you neurodivergent?

For a person to be neurodivergent, they need to have a neurotype that is different than the assumed standard. A personal with use of all of their senses, no injuries or trauma, and no mental illness or other disability would be considered neurotypical. I’ve heard they exist, but it honestly seems hard to believe that someone could have literally none of those things.

That being said, there are a number of ways that you could count yourself as neurodivergent. Here are a just few examples:

• blindness
• deafness
• Autism
• ADHD
• PTSD or cPTSD
• anxiety or mood disorders
• traumatic brain injuries
• dementia or Alzheimer’s

So, you can be born with certain neurodivergences, or you can acquire them as you go for various reasons. I’ll leave with two stories to help demonstrate how this works.

Innate Neurodivergence

A minority of my family are born without a sense of smell. My grandma was sort of famous for it among my aunts and uncles. It contributed to her being a bit of a badass in our eyes because she was very resilient to handling gross stuff.

Her brother shared this trait with her. As an adult, he had a surgery that allowed him to smell the world for the first time. He found it very overwhelming and uncomfortable. Grandma said that he was so stressed out by this new sense that she opted against having the surgery.

The thing is, he didn’t have the neurology in place to cope with an olfactory life. Likewise, my grandmother was able to do truly awful tasks without flinching because she didn’t have a sense of smell to program a disgust reaction into her neurology. At least not in the same way.

From the earliest stages in their development, their neurology differed from the norm of the smelling world in a way that influenced their relationship with the world around them. There are ways in which not being able to smell anything defined parts of who they were.

Acquired Neurodivergence

Many people start their lives with neurodivergences, but some start out neurotypical and experience changes during their lives. Neurology is both consistent and very changeable, and it plays a huge role in personality. The story of Phineas Gage is a great example of this.

Phineas worked as a foreman for a railroad company in the mid 19th century when a work accident drove a tamping rod through the left side of his head. Miraculously, he survived despite some truly horrific injuries to his brain. He was even reported to have gotten up shortly after the accident, still able to speak and mostly walk without help.

However, Gage’s recovery was long and hard. He couldn’t work fulltime after his injury, and he struggled to maintain his physical strength. It was reported that his personality was noticably impacted by his injury. Before his accident, he was said to be well-mannered, clever, and enjoyable company. After, it’s reported that he was quite crass and confrontational. This was especially true in the early years of his recovery, though his personality may have evened out more over time.

Phineas Gage’s ordeal contributed a lot to our modern understanding of how brains affect personality (and to our understanding of neuroplasticity). His form of neurodivergence came from a brutal twist of fate rather than genetics, yet it was still a significant factor in how he lived his life.

I’m Neurodivergent, Now What?

First, if you’re new to this, congratulations on discovering this important information about yourself! My best advice to you is to start researching your discovery. Learn from others with your neurotype. There are countless videos, articles, books, and more available for you. Take what resonates with you and leave the rest.

Regardless of how long you’ve known about yourself, it’s always wise to expose yourself to a wide range of perspectives and experiences. People are flawed and come in many different configurations, so no one is going to have the exact perfect answers or insights. There are many ways in which even clinical understanding of divergent neurotypes can be deeply flawed. However, you will find consistencies among the different sources, and those consistencies will help you build a deeper connection within yourself.

Knowledge is self-empowerment in that regard. The better you know yourself, the better you’ll be able to navigate a world that isn’t built to consider your needs or experiences.

Taking the time to learn what your neurodivergence is and how it impacts you will help you improve the quality of your life. It’s never too late!