Neurodivergent, neurodiverse - what's the difference?

In recent years, awareness of neurodivergent conditions such as autism and ADHD has increased exponentially with assessment and diagnosis rates sky-rocketing. For example, according to the Nuffield Trust, there has been a five-fold increase in the number of people seeking an autism diagnosis since 2019.

While autism and ADHD are now widely understood to be neurodivergent conditions, this term also covers conditions such as dyslexia, dyspraxia, Tourette’s Syndrome, hypermobility, dyscalculia, dysgraphia, auditory processing disorder, sensory processing disorder and epilepsy. 

Neurodivergent or neurodiverse?

In its simplest form, the term neurodivergent refers to people whose brains work differently from neurotypical people’s brains. This understanding rests on a belief that the way neurotypical brains work is the norm. That said, studies are finding higher and higher levels of prevalence of neurodivergent conditions, suggesting the numbers may be more equally weighted than was previously thought.

Neurodivergent conditions impact how people process and organise information as well as creating a range of common strengths and challenges. Typically they may experience difficulties in ‘executive functioning’. Executive functioning is a term which refers to a range of cognitive skills that help people plan, organise, make decisions, regulate their emotions and control their behaviour. For example, neurodivergent people may struggle with planning and organising their morning routine and may consequently be habitually late for work despite the fact the same tasks need to be completed each day. On the other hand, they may have particular strengths in their ability to make connections and spot patterns between information that others cannot see, often displaying creative talents or entrepreneurial skills others can only dream of. 

The term neurodiverse refers to the diversity of, well, brains across the whole of humanity in terms of how they function and think. The important thing to note is that this term describes the differences and variations that are a natural and normal aspect of humanity. This is why it is incorrect to refer to an individual as ‘neurodiverse’. Only humanity as a whole or aggregated populations of humans can be neurodiverse, not individuals. 

Sensory differences

Being neurodivergent frequently involves experiencing sensory information differently to neurotypical people. Many of us were taught that we had five senses: hearing, vision, touch, taste and smell. 

But in reality, we have at least three more senses than these (some experts include more). The lesser-known senses most experts agree upon are vestibular, proprioceptive and interoception. 

Vestibular is our sense of balance and orientation, the proprioceptive sense feeds our brains information about where our bodies are in relation to the space and other things around us and interoception relates to the sensations within our bodies. 

Neurodivergent people are more likely to have difficulty processing sensory information because their brains under-register some types and over-register others. This can be exhausting and make everyday experiences such as going into a supermarket to purchase groceries or taking a train more tiring and overwhelming for neurodivergent people. They may need to put strategies in place such as wearing ear defenders or glasses which block blue light, in order to meet their individual sensory needs in these situations. Doing so enables them to avoid over-exposure to their individual stressors which can lead to meltdowns or shutdowns in the short term and burnout in the long term. 

Hypersensitivity, hyposensitivity and habituation

Heightened sensitivity to certain sensory inputs such as high-pitched sounds, fluorescent lighting or the smell of perfume is known as hypersensitivity. Habituation is the process by which the brain becomes less sensitive and stops processing the same sensory information when it is received repeatedly.

Many of us will have noticed how we stop smelling our own perfume after a certain length of time, but how other people comment on it long beyond that point. This is habituation in action. When a neurodivergent person has a hypersensitivity to certain sensory information (known as stimuli) it means their brains may take a lot longer to switch off processing that same information over and over again. This means their brain is having to work harder and they may eventually become overwhelmed and exhausted if other types of sensory information are added into the mix. This can then lead to distress behaviours such as meltdowns or shutdowns.

At the same time, neurodivergent people can have lower levels of sensitivity to other types of input, known as hyposensitivity and fail to register sensory information. For example, they may not hear people talking right next to them (really!) because even though the sound is audible, their brain is not processing that particular type of sensory information. Or they may struggle to register objects and people close to them and consequently bump into things or people. When they fail to apologise, because they didn’t feel the sensation themselves of bumping into another person, they can be seen as rude. But in reality, they may have had no idea they ever came into contact with another human. 

Meltdowns and shutdowns 

Being in environments where there is too much sensory input can often be triggering and lead to meltdowns or shutdowns for neurodivergent people. As their brains struggle to process the volume of input this can lead to overwhelm, which is often experienced as feelings of irritation, stress or anxiety. Once this happens the neurodivergent person may react by shutting down. Shutdown is characterised by withdrawing, appearing passive, an inability to process or engage in communication with others and difficulty carrying out tasks. This is often how people react to a gradual build-up of stress over time. 

On the other hand, they may experience a meltdown which is characterised by outward expression such as screaming, crying or physical agitation. This is often the result of being overloaded with different sensory inputs or having too many ‘executive functioning’ tasks to manage.

What is neuro-affirming language?

Using neuro-affirming language means communicating in ways that validate and respect neurodivergent people, recognises their diversity and individuality and emphasises their strengths. This is in direct contrast to framing differences as problems or evidence of them being deficient.

If you are speaking with a neurodivergent person, a good place to start is by asking them how they identify or what language they use to describe themselves. This is particularly relevant for autistic people who might prefer to be called autistic rather than described as ‘having autism’ for example. 

5 tips for talking about neurodivergence  

1. Avoid words like ‘impairment’ or ‘disorder’ which are negative terms. Instead, you can use positive or neutral terms to describe experiences such as ‘difference’ or ‘variation’.
2. Acknowledge sensory sensitivities and don’t fall into the trap of minimising or dismissing them (e.g. by saying “they overreact to noise”, you could use neuroaffirming language to say “they are sensitive to noise”).
3. Avoid stereotypes and generalisations which often centre on cliched versions of neurodivergent people e.g. all people with Tourette’s swear involuntarily.
4. Avoid using narratives that focus on ‘fixing’ neurodivergence or making neurodivergent people appear more neurotypical. Avoid the terms low or high functioning.
5. Focus on the strengths and unique skills, interests and experiences of the individual rather than only showing interest in the challenges or problems that person faces.

No two neurodivergent people are the same

In autistic culture, there is a saying that “if you’ve met one autistic person, you’ve met one autistic person”. Translation: don’t assume you know about autism just because you know one autistic person. The same could be said for anymost of the neurodivergent conditions named at the start of this article.

Ultimately regardless of what strengths or challenges any neurodivergent person experiences, each neurodivergent person is unique, and has their own unique talents and strengths to bring to the world if they are given the right conditions in which to thrive.