Embracing the Power of Neurodiversity in Business

As female entrepreneurs, we often find ourselves on a quest to balance self-care with the demands of our businesses. During the current Self-Care Series, we have been focusing on topics that are fundamental for both our mental health and the health of our businesses.

I recently interviewed neurodiversity speaker and advocate Pasha Marlowe, MFT. The conversation around embracing neurodiversity and cultivating environments where creativity is not merely encouraged, but where it can thrive outside the bounds of traditional norms. Embracing our natural inclinations and unique abilities is essential not just for personal growth but for fostering a culture of innovation within our businesses.

The conversation with Pasha resonated deeply with me, particularly when we touched on the topic of accepting and supporting others for who they are, rather than trying to fit them, or ourselves, into preconceived societal molds. This is a lesson I wish I had embraced earlier in life, especially when considering how I passed along ADHD traits to my own children, long before I even knew that I had it myself.

My approach to entrepreneurship has dramatically changed since I started acknowledging and unlearning harmful beliefs and internalized stigma for being different. For many of us, this journey includes understanding that our uniqueness-be it due to being neurodivergent, queer, or simply different-is not just acceptable, but a potential superpower within the business realm. Pasha and I share a passion for helping others along this path of radical self-acceptance.

Masking, a strategy often employed by those with neurodivergent traits to blend into neurotypical environments, became a central point of our discussion. Both Pasha and I are no strangers to masking certain aspects of our identities to prevent negative reactions or microaggressions. We delve into the complexities of this coping mechanism, revealing the emotional and even physical toll it takes, especially when safety and acceptance are at stake.

During our conversation, Pasha and I discussed the concept of “neurobelonging,” a term she created that is in the process of being trademarked. Neurobelonging is about authenticity and not needing to change ourselves to be accepted. It’s about the internal sense of acceptance without relying on external validation. It involves facing the world without fear of judgment or rejection, something many female entrepreneurs must muster daily.

As we continued to unpack the intricacies of masking, we shared personal experiences of rejection and judgment, emphasizing the importance of trusting our intuition and standing firm in our truth despite potential setbacks. Through this lens, we explored the three subtypes of ADHD and the unique challenges they pose, from being overtly hyperactive and impulsive to quietly underachieving due to inattentiveness and distractibility. This insight is invaluable for female entrepreneurs who might encounter similar traits in themselves or their teams.

Finding accommodating and supportive relationships is key, especially for those of us navigating the entrepreneurial journey with neurodivergent traits. It’s about surrounding ourselves with open-minded, playful individuals who understand and celebrate differences rather than seeking to suppress them.

Language, we agreed, is a powerful tool for promoting inclusivity and destigmatizing neurodiversity. Embracing the neurodiversity paradigm over the pathology paradigm helps shift our perspective from seeing differences as disorders to recognizing them as natural variations of the human experience. In our quest for true inclusivity, changing the way we speak about neurodivergencies within our businesses and communities is essential.

Finally, Pasha and I tackled the topic of identity in modern culture, the impact of the medical model, and the importance of depathologizing and destigmatizing neurodivergence on a larger scale. We discussed financial inaccessibility, long wait times for diagnosis, and potential biases within the medical community, recognizing the need for a more empathetic and understanding approach.

As a female entrepreneur, it’s my hope that our discussion on neurodiversity not only sheds light on the unique challenges we face but also empowers us to create a more inclusive world-one where every facet of neurodivergence is not only recognized but esteemed as an integral part of our society’s tapestry.

Feel free to DM me on LinkedIn or Instagram @coachdiannwingert or send me an email at diann@diannwingertcoaching.com. I’d love to hear your thoughts! If you’d like to hear the full episode on The Driven Woman Entrepreneur Podcast, you can do that here.

Originally published at https://www.diannwingertcoaching.com on May 9, 2024.