Rethinking Neurodiversity From Fixing People to Understanding Difference
- 4 hours ago
- 7 min read
Gillian is the Managing Director of Emerge Development Consultancy, which she founded 28 years ago. She is a Master Executive Coach working with many CEOs and Managing Directors globally. She is also an international speaker and, in 2020, was named by f: Entrepreneur as one of the leading UK Female Entrepreneurs in the I also campaign. In 2023, she was named the Leader of the Year by the Women’s Business Club. In 2024, she was named Businesswoman of the Decade.
I was diagnosed with Bipolar at 30, and then, two years ago, with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). It was the second diagnosis that really made me pause and think differently. Not just about myself, but about the whole idea of what it means to be “normal”. Who actually decides that? And, if I’m honest, do I even want to be?
For a long time, I accepted the narrative that sat behind those diagnoses. The idea that there is a standard way the brain should work, and anything outside of that needs to be managed, treated, or corrected. That thinking sits within what’s often called the pathology paradigm, although most of us wouldn’t have used that language. We just absorbed the assumption that difference equals deficit.
But the more I’ve worked with neurodivergent individuals, and the more I’ve reflected on my own experience, the less that framing makes sense.
If someone offered me a pill today that would “cure” my ADHD, I wouldn’t take it. That might sound surprising, especially given the challenges that come with it, but ADHD is also tied up with how I think, how I create, how I connect ideas, and how I run my business. Take that away, and I might become more consistent, possibly even easier to live with, but I would lose something that feels central to who I am.
That doesn’t mean everything is easy. It isn’t. There are aspects I’ve had to learn to manage and still do. But that’s very different from wanting to be fixed.
A shift in perspective
There is a growing body of thinking that offers a different lens. Rather than seeing neurological differences as problems, the neurodiversity perspective recognises them as part of the natural variation in how human brains work.
When you look at it that way, the question changes. Instead of asking what is wrong with someone, you start asking how they experience the world and what helps them to function at their best. It sounds like a small shift, but in practice, it changes conversations completely, particularly in workplaces where expectations are often unspoken and quite rigid.
The problem with “normal”
The more you interrogate the idea of normal, the more unstable it becomes. Normal compared to what? Normal for whom? Normal in which environment?
We tend to treat diagnostic frameworks as fixed and authoritative, yet history tells a different story. The DSM (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders), which many people see as the benchmark for defining mental disorders, classified homosexuality as a disorder until the 1970s. It is a useful reminder that what we define as normal is shaped by culture and context, not just science.
That matters because many of the behaviours we still describe as problematic only become so in certain environments.
Take a typical open-plan office. For someone who is easily distracted or sensitive to noise, it can feel relentless. There is movement, conversation, interruptions, and very little opportunity to get into a state of deep focus. In that context, struggling to concentrate is often seen as a personal failing rather than a design issue.
I’ve been described as inconsistent more than once in my career. It took me a long time to realise that what looked like inconsistency was often a response to environments that didn’t play to my strengths.
The same applies in different ways for autistic professionals who may be entirely comfortable with the technical demands of their role but find the social side of work, particularly the unwritten rules, far more challenging. Seen through this lens, what we call deficits often look more like mismatches.
Shifting the focus to strengths in neurodiversity
One of the most practical things organisations can do is change the language they use. When the starting point is a deficit, it shapes everything that follows. When the starting point is strength, the conversation opens up.
I was working recently with an autistic woman whose role involved organising large conferences. The level of detail she managed was extraordinary. Budgets, logistics, timelines, all handled with precision. Yet when we talked, she focused almost entirely on where she felt she was falling short.
We reframed the conversation, and she decided to be very direct with her new manager. She explained what she was brilliant at, and why, and also where she found things more difficult, particularly the evening networking and small talk.
His response was refreshingly straightforward. He suggested they split the role slightly differently. She focused on the structure and delivery, and he took on more of the social side. Nothing about her needed fixing. The role just needed adjusting.
It made me think how powerful it would be if more people felt able to articulate how they work best, and if managers were confident enough to respond with flexibility rather than judgement.
Moving from theory to practice
Adopting a neurodiversity perspective does not mean ignoring challenges. It simply means approaching them in a more thoughtful way. The question becomes less about changing the person and more about shaping the environment.
In reality, many of the adjustments that make the biggest difference are not complicated. Making expectations explicit is one of the simplest. So much of working life relies on assumptions. How meetings are run, how decisions are made, what good looks like. For someone who processes information differently, those assumptions can create unnecessary friction. Clarity, on the other hand, makes things easier for everyone.
Flexibility is another area where small changes can have a big impact. Allowing some choice over how work is structured, where it is done, or how people communicate can significantly improve both performance and well-being. It is less about special treatment and more about recognising that one size rarely fits all.
Meetings are worth reconsidering too. Fast-paced discussions with no clear agenda tend to favour those who think quickly in the moment. Others may need a bit more time to process before contributing. Sharing information in advance, allowing space for reflection, and capturing outcomes clearly can lead to better decisions rather than just louder conversations.
There is also something important in separating outcomes from style. I still see managers focusing heavily on how work is done rather than what is achieved. If someone delivers consistently strong results, the method they use should be open for discussion rather than criticism.
Creating space for honest conversations
Underlying all of this is the need for psychological safety. People are unlikely to share how they really work best if they think it will be used against them.
Leaders play a key role here, often by doing something quite simple. Asking questions and being open about different working styles. What helps you concentrate? How do you prefer feedback? What tends to drain your energy?
These are not complicated conversations, but they can shift the dynamic from accommodation to something more positive and practical.
Curiosity also matters. It is very easy to interpret behaviour through our own lens and make assumptions about intent. Taking a step back and asking what might be driving that behaviour usually leads to a more useful understanding.
The hidden cost of masking
One area that is often overlooked is the effort involved in masking. Many neurodivergent people become highly skilled at adapting their behaviour to fit expectations, sometimes to the point where their differences are not immediately visible.
That adaptation comes at a cost. It takes energy to constantly monitor how you are coming across, to adjust your communication, or to push through environments that feel uncomfortable.
When people are able to work in a way that feels more natural, that energy is freed up. It tends to show up in better thinking, stronger contribution, and, quite often, greater resilience.
A broader shift
What sits underneath all of this is a broader question about how we define ability and performance.
If we move away from the idea that there is a single correct way of thinking or behaving, then diversity of thought becomes something we actively design for rather than something we try to manage.
In practice, that often looks like clearer communication, more thoughtful meeting design, and a willingness to adapt roles slightly to get the best from people. None of this is particularly radical, but collectively it makes a significant difference.
From inclusion to advantage
Organisations often talk about the need for innovation and fresh thinking, yet those things rarely come from uniformity.
When people are able to approach problems in different ways, to notice patterns others might miss, or to challenge assumptions, it strengthens the overall capability of a team.
Seen in that light, neurodiversity is not something to accommodate at the edges. It is something that can sit at the centre of how organisations think about performance and potential. Which brings us back to the original question.
Perhaps it is no longer about whether neurodivergent individuals can adapt to existing workplaces. A more interesting question is whether workplaces are willing to evolve to reflect the full range of human thinking that already exists within them. And that feels like a far more useful place to start.
Read more from Gillian Jones-Williams
Gillian Jones-Williams, Emerge Development Consultancy
Gillian is the Managing Director of Emerge Development Consultancy, which she founded 25 years ago. She is a Master Executive Coach working with many CEOs and Managing Directors globally. She is also an international speaker and in 2020 was named by f: Entrepreneur as one of the leading UK Female Entrepreneurs in the I also campaign. In 2024, she was awarded Businesswoman of the Decade by the Women’s Business Club.
Gillian founded the RISE Women’s Development Programme, which is delivered both in the UK and the Middle East, and in Saudi Arabia, and is her absolute passion.
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