Someone whose neurodevelopmental profile affects memory or organisation may become an exceptional organiser, not because it is easy, but because the skill has been honed through lived necessity. Strength does not negate cost; it acknowledges growth. In that network, I experience something different from tolerance. I experience belonging.
Why this matters
These experiences matter because they reveal a tension. Professions that champion inclusion are not immune to stigma. Bias exists everywhere, the difference is whether we are willing to identify and challenge it to change it, My mixed ethnicity, gender diversity, and neurodivergence intersect. They have exposed me to exclusion, but they have also sharpened my perception of systems, power, and relational dynamics. They have shaped my practice style grounded in co-creation rather than authority, in scaffolding and flexibility. I have learned that difference is not the obstacle, it is often the environment. I continue to need adjustments, I continue to encounter bias and sometimes, I can see clearly where I am in my journey. I am able not only to survive systems, but to gently reshape them so that others do not have to hide. In the network I feel we are all working towards this, together.
11
Made with FlippingBook Digital Proposal Creator