Neurodiversity by Thomas Armstrong

 Starts off on a very positive note, mentioning Judy Singer and her coining of the term 'Neurodiversity'. Says there's 7 types he identifies: 

1. Autism

2. ADHD

3. Dyslexia

4. Mood disorders

5. Anxiety disorders

6. Intellectual disabilities

7. Schizophrenia 

First off, Armstrong has a very accessible writing style that's easy on the eyes. He starts off on a very positive note, likening human brains to a complex ecological entity as opposed to a machine as has been popularised in the past. This in itself is ground breaking, and crucial to understanding the complexity with which they have evolved for each one of us, unlike machines which perform the similar functions in similar ways, and are largely immune to external conditions. We are not binary, and don't operate in yes and no terminology. 

The idea of a normal needs to go away. The NIMH in the US has reported more than 1/4th of all adults suffer from a mental disorder in any given year. The way the medical fraternity works is that it has a disease- and disorder-based approach to diagnosis, not health & well-being focused. Which works, sometimes, but also sometimes tends to classify someone as "abnormal" when their behaviours or experiences don't match up to the standard definition of normal. 

We need to accept the idea that some of us are naturally able to do things that others are not. Some are generalists while others are specialists. Disability needs to become less about an "inability to do something" and more about figuring out how to keep each other in mind while making simple everyday decisions. 

Then Mr Armstrong makes a solid point by adding most disability centred groups are able to ask for funds by a demonstration of deficits. If strengths and aptitudes are emphasized, these funds and help might become unavailable. For instance with dyslexics, who are able to visualise in 3D clarity, and autistics, who have an innate understanding of patterns and how objects work. 

Who can say what's best for humanity at any given moment? 

More and more people are talking about schizophrenia, mental illnesses and their symptoms such as depression and anxiety because we've realized we're all just a few experiences away from experiencing things that are different from 'normal'. Likewise neurodivergents are only a few experiences away from experiencing things that are 'normal'. 

Most alt-mental conditions and states of mind are treated as illnesses and disorders because they violate some social code. The author gives an example of a Protestant tenet which emphasizes delayed gratification, focus, and orderly work, which seems to be absent in individuals with ADHD

The virtues/ social code violated by each of the different types of Neurodiversity identified by the author:

1. Autism - sociability

2. Depression - happiness

3. Anxiety - tranquillity

4. Developmental disabilities - intelligence

5. Schizophrenia - rationality

6. ADHD - focus

What you can do and what you can't do is defined so much by value systems too. Schools place extra emphasis on rule following and test taking, and little emphasis on art, music, nature, physical skill, etc. So a lot of NDs tend to get sidelined. 

Still, the author is super pragmatic and emphasizes that in order to survive, one must adapt to one's current conditions, however they might be. In the past, a chance genetic mutation in biodiversity might have ensured the survival of some species of plants and animals. But in today's context, it's essential to do whatever is possible to fit into the surrounding environment in order to survive. I feel like some people do this more naturally, others more as a consequence of the fear of troubling times ahead if they fail to conform. Basically means out of fear. But one way or another, it's critical that it's done. 

Conversely, in the next principle (all principles in one place later) the author says it's also possible to alter your environment to suit your brain type. This is called Niche Construction. Niche Construction - the process by which an animal changes its environment to suit its own need. We do it all the time. Our cities, our vehicles, our offices are the result of niche construction. Maybe the present way of being - society - provides for easier niche construction, provided those niches are recognized and their voices amplified. 

Niche construction, it is said, is also perhaps the second most important theory to support evolution after natural selection. And the author confirms that brain drain, as I had suspected, is indeed a result of niche construction, people finding their way to a place where their brains are at an optimum level of functioning. Wow, blown away. Also cool that the author mentions both Simon Baron-Cohen and Steve Silberman's work within like a 2-page gap. Positive niche construction makes the brain more adaptable to its environment. 

It seems to me like the world of neurodiversity is - unwittingly - opening up to me in exactly the chronology needed to understand it best. Trust the universe. 

Assistive technologies are both high- and low-tech tools used by a variety of disabled people to figure out day-to-day tasks. This can be another space where MMM can do some stuff? 

Role model development is super critical for NDs to see that others with the same difficulties have had the same struggles and the ways in which they've coped with them to eventually find success. 

A good HR strategy would be for NDs to surround themselves with people who see the best in them. Maybe MMM can incorporate this in its ethos and encourage every future employee to present an idea of their niche construction. The company will see how much of what it can provide is in line with each individual's needs and select employees accordingly. Might need to meet a lot more autistic people and figure out how they're able to contribute ideas-wise to video production, etc. 

Psychiatrist Norman Doidge proposes neuroplasticity, the idea that the brain is in a constant state of flux, and each experience changes it mildly. 

ADHD

ADHD - hyperactive, impulsive, distractible. 

Motor-sensory regions aren't well regulated by the inhibitory regions. Dopamine deficiency, and brain is understimulated, so it seeks out adventure and stimulating activities. Good in the outdoors, not good at focusing on following a routine imposed externally. 

The author draws a // between ADHD as a deficit among kids and the same qualities recognized as positive traits in an inventor/ creative person. 

Hyperactive = vitality

Impulsive = spontaneity

Distractible = divergence

ADHD individuals have a roaming & homing type of alt-attentional style where the attention is both able to scan its surroundings for interesting/ engaging things while being able to settle into a flow state when engaged in a stimulating activity. 

Next is autism, and the author gives a brief history of the disorder, which is a very concise version of the one in Neurotribes. 

One significant fact: the mirror neurons of autistic individuals, which help NTs develop social cues by producing in them the same feelings that they see others feel with certain experiences, is compromised, making autistics clueless about others' feelings and intentions. 

Another very interesting theory: recently it has been suggested that there's an evolutionary struggle between the genes in the father's sperm and the mother's egg, and this conflict can tip brain development entirely in one of two directions: if the dad's genes are favoured, the result is autism and if the mother's are favoured, the result is depression, schizophrenia and bipolar. 

Mood disorders

Major depressive disorder and bipolar disorder. Apparently this has also been pathologized because of the emphasis our current culture places on happiness 24/7. Seems like there's an implicit benefit to the system from retail therapy (selling us stuff that can make us happy), and so sadness or its more grave form, depression, is stigmatized. Author argues that its essential to experience the full gamut of human emotion (while acknowledging how debilitating major depressive disorder can be) in order to realize their full vision of life. Gives the example of Carl Jung who, at 38, started working with twigs and seashells by the beach and came up with his theory of the collective conscious, work that inspired him for the next 40 years. 

Also, a bunch of cultures looked at depression from two angles - with and without a cause. Depression in modern society seems like a revolt against the pressure to be happy and busy all the time. It could have evolved in humans as a way to help them realign unrealistic goals, to withdraw their talent from society as a way of seeking support from others, or even to change vocation. 

Niche construction for depression - 

1. Eating a healthy diet

2. Simple activities - taking a walk in nature, time spent with pets, volunteer work, journal keeping, getting enough sleep, joining support group

3. Study lives of others with similar conditions

Anxiety

Broadly of four types:

1. Generalized anxiety disorder

2. Social anxiety disorder

3. PTSD

4. OCD

Mostly hereditary. Could also develop in infants and pre-adolescents due to growing up stress/ trauma. Mainly happens due to a hyperactive amygdala. Also, sometimes the upper brain centres don't send the right information to the amygdala, and it starts to misconstrue even normal signals as threats. The amygdala is connected to all the sensory parts of the brain, receiving stimuli such as smells, sounds, sights, feels, etc. A wrong signal from any of these can trigger the amygdala and make it believe something is a threat when it might be something perfectly normal. 

OCD supposedly evolved from a necessity to follow ritualistic behaviour, like in prayer or community-related activities. A bunch of people have anxiety disorders, and their proclivities lie in the creative arts, including Woody Allen and Lars Von Trier. 

Niche construction for anxiety-related disorders includes mindfulness meditation where the focus is fixated on the breath, and thoughts and feelings are labelled as such and the attention immediately brought back into the present moment. Headspace. 

The Rainbow of Mental Intelligences

The full spectrum of mental intelligence. Just over 100 years ago, idiot, imbecile and moron were scientific terms used to describe people with IQ lower than 50. The inventors of these terms were supposedly German eugenicists, who wanted to eradicate maladies from the gene pool altogether. 

In our education systems, we seem to be following the West's example of measuring everything with numbers. Including complex intelligence. The IQ test is one such example of a complex ecosystem of knowledge, perception and experience being assigned an arbitrary number value to determine its "potential." While the West might have had its reasons for doing it, I don't understand why it became standardized in our education system as well. Wasn't there a disabled or cognitively impaired individual in our history books, who might've shown his or her capabilities in their own unique ways? 

Israeli psychologist Reuven Feuerstein undermines the importance of heredity and inborn abilities, and instead focuses on how well a teacher or mentor is able to assist someone think through a problem. 

Another psychologist who has had a big role to play in changing the notion of fixed innate intelligence is Howard Gardner. He says there are several intelligences, "each roughly equivalent to the others in legitimacy."

1. Linguistic intelligence

2. Logical-mathematical intelligence

3. Spatial intelligence

4. Bodily kinesthetic intelligence

5. Musical intelligence

6. Interpersonal intelligence

7. Intrapersonal intelligence

8. Naturalist intelligence

Inter- and intrapersonal talents are controlled by the frontal lobes. The emotional brain is controlled by the limbic system, made up of the amygdala, hippocampus, and cingulate gyrus. 'Information from the outside world is funneled through the emotional brain before making its way to the neocortex. Meaning we have feelings about things before we think about them abstractly.' 

Kinesthetic intelligence - motor cortex, cerebellum and basal ganglia

Spatial intelligence - occipital lobes (back of head)

A bunch of different brain areas work together in coordination for optimum cognitive function. Differences in the functioning of certain areas may cause differences of cognition and expression. 

Understanding cognitive profiles. 

One of my biggest personal thought validations comes when the author says Western cultures are more 'me' oriented where individuality is prized, and non-Western cultures (including India's) are ones where cultural cohesion is key and assimilation into society is rewarded (a person is seen in relation to his peers, family, tribe, cultural group, etc). This is perhaps the biggest reason why being proudly different is not going to work out over here. This is perhaps why other disabled people haven't come out yet, and why they don't wear their disability on their sleeve. This is why the narrative will first need to change to 'me'. It's going to be a super uphill road, but I'll only need to do the best that I can :). 

Williams Syndrome Down's Syndrome, Schizophrenia

Schizophrenia, the author says, is associated with high creativity, an obsession with spirituality and rituals, and high levels of self-consciousness. Hallucinations, which often make their way into art, are common. Author talks about Outsider Art, which is a term used for art that lies outside the realms of a "professional art culture." Could our docu films also be put in that category? Anyway, a bunch of artists, painters, authors, etc had schizophrenia. 

There's also schizotypal, which is a milder form of schizophrenia without the hallucinations but the same levels of creativity and originality. A WHO study shows that diagnosed schizophrenics in third-world countries or non-rational cultures have a better QOL than rational cultures and first-world countries. 

Why is special education more harmful than helpful? Because it focuses too heavily on deficit, damage and dysfunction rather than strengths, talents and abilities. Conversely, the education system also has a strict standard that children are expected to comply with - a set of subjects in which equal proficiency must be shown to qualify as competent. 

After reading up so much on special ed classrooms and the harm they can cause, I think we're going to be proponents of what is known as 'neurodiverse classrooms.' Students of all backgrounds, abilities and diversities are encouraged to come together. 

In neurodiverse classrooms, the theory of multiple intelligences is identified and diverse strategies are used to impart education. The classroom model believes in the natural, organic development of the individual. It emphasizes ipsative progress, which is a child's progress based on his past performances. 

Neurodiverse classroom blueprint: 

1. Studying the lives of eminent neurodiverse individuals who overcame adversity to achieve greatness 

2. Inviting neurodiverse members to come and speak about their experiences

3. Providing a range of books, films and other materials on neurodiverse people

4. Celebrating ND-related calendar events

5. Sharing information about the strengths of ND conditions

Specialisterne works in a way where clients are outright briefed about the condition of the employees. At some point, once MMM starts hiring more neurodivergents, we will put out a white paper on how clients will need to behave with our employees to expect the best, most creative output. 

We need to stop seeing human nature with our current cultural myopia. We need to be on the lookout for aberrant behaviour as beneficial to the species. Because gene mutations and the birth of allelles may rectify conditions that are deemed destructive for all of mankind. 

'Defects, disorders, diseases and disabilities can play a paradoxical role by bringing out latent power that might not even be imaginable.' 

Finally, the author sheds light on the 'dark' side of neurodivergence. The violent outbursts, the physical harm, etc. Which is not lost on us either. In fact I was watching a documentary called 'My Brother with Autism' on the Real Stories channel and in it the director (also the sister of the person with autism in the film) talks about her PTSD due to her brother's condition. Dr Armstrong says while people with Neurodiversity suffer themselves and cause suffering, it's important to have these genes in the human gene pool for the diversity they bring to human culture. 'It provides civilization with a multitude of possibilities, variety of styles of living, unique perspectives on life and a range of potentialities that enrich our world.'  

All in all, an amazingly, comprehensive book that looks at most kinds of neurodiversity and examines it from most angles in the context of culture, anthropology, pathology, genetics and many others.