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Neurodiversity

Essays and videos offering insights into the self, relationships, cognition and neuroscience

Addiction Ageing and death Childhood and adolescence Cognition and intelligence Consciousness and altered states Family life Gender and identity Language and linguistics Life stages Love and friendship Mental health Mood and emotion Neurodiversity Neuroscience Personality Pleasure and pain Psychiatry and psychotherapy Self-improvement Sex and sexuality Sleep and dreams Social psychology Spirituality Teaching and learning Technology and the self Wellbeing

Explore more Psychology

Photo of a busy street corner with people gathering outside a cafe named Dante in a city setting on a cloudy day.

essayNeurodiversity

Rethinking adult ADHD

The diagnostic category of adult ADHD is becoming more inclusive. That’s not the same as it being overdiagnosed

Margaret Sibley

A young person with curly hair and glasses, wearing a backpack, indoors in what appears to be a school setting, with a green door and soft lighting, other children in background.

essayNeurodiversity

Our diverse togetherness

While initiatives for inclusive education mean well, schools fail to provide neurodivergent students what they need to flourish

Chelsea Wallis

Four girls sitting on a riverbank, sitting in two groups of two; three upright and one lying down, with backpacks and bags nearby.

essayNeurodiversity

Autism’s missing women

Long believed to be particularly associated with males, new research is revolutionising our understanding of autism

Gina Rippon

Photo of a crowd with a focused young woman looking to the side, surrounded by blurred faces in the foreground.

essayPersonality

The highly sensitive person

Those with this little-known trait think more deeply and feel more empathy. But they also deal with significant challenges

Elaine Aron

Close-up of a person’s face in low light, showing their ear with an earring and textured skin.

essayPhilosophy of mind

What colour do you see?

New research is uncovering the hidden differences in how people experience the world. The consequences are unsettling

Gary Lupyan

Three painted figures with large black hair, blue clothing, and red cheeks. Their faces are unpainted, drawn with kinetic linework over beige paper. Behind them are sparse white clouds and a blue sky.

videoArt

Inside the unique creative space where ‘outsider’ artists find their form

14 minutes

A young black man wearing a blue checkered shirt and glasses is speaking into a microphone with a pop filter, reading off of a paper, against a plain white background.

videoBiography and memoir

A young autistic man’s heartfelt letter to the beloved mother he lost

12 minutes

Two girls sitting at a wooden table, studying with notebooks and stationery, with a large world map on the wall behind them.

essayEducation

Unschooling

It takes nerve to go against the grain and take your child out of school. But, for some, that’s when learning really starts

Naomi Fisher & Heidi Steel

An illustration of a man lying on a chaise longue talking to man sitting in a chair, surrounded by bookshelves in a cosy room.

videoEthics

An animator wonders: can you ever depict someone without making them a caricature?

10 minutes

A child’s drawing of a multicoloured house, dog, and sibling with the text “My house, my dog, my sister” handwritten below.

videoNeurodiversity

Autistic children and adults sketch out the look and feel of their sensory world

11 minutes

Abstract art with colourful, stylised human-like figures in red, blue, and green, floating shapes overhead on a beige background.

videoNeurodiversity

Workplace diversity isn’t just about equality – it’s a competitive advantage

4 minutes

Illustration of a bald man in glasses and a striped shirt drawing artichokes with a pencil on a sheet, viewed from above.

videoArt

How a self-taught autistic artist mines creativity from life’s endless variations

11 minutes

Two people sitting on a couch, their legs crossed and bare feet touching tenderly. One has nail varnish on.

essayNeurodiversity

After neurodiversity

We live in a world that must move beyond identity politics and embrace new models of the mind. Enter psydiversity

Bonnie Evans

Grainy black-and-white photo of a woman’s back wearing a polka-dot dress, reflecting a street scene with a car and a cyclist.

essayNeurodiversity

Am I disabled?

With my pen hovering over a form, there is no easy answer: better to provoke stigma with support, or resist classification?

Joanne Limburg

Abstract digital artwork with colourful, geometric shapes resembling a cityscape on a light background.

videoNeurodiversity

Step into synaesthesia’s visual soundscape, built with the music of John Coltrane

2 minutes

Illustration of two men on a sofa, microphones in front of them, one stretching and the other speaking, a scenic painting behind them.

videoFamily life

Jamie is empathetic and funny – and a ‘complete mystery’ to those who love him most

8 minutes

Abstract painting with black-and-white swirls and a splash of dark red on a textured background.

videoNeurodiversity

‘A face is a hilly landscape.’ How a face-blind artist paints what she can’t recognise

5 minutes

Children in a classroom raising their hands with a teacher at the front. The setting seems to have a relaxed atmosphere.

ideaNeurodiversity

Living with ADHD: how I learned to make distraction work for me

Sarah Stein Lubrano

A person rowing a single scull boat on a calm, grey body of water with subtle ripples and a reflection of trees.

ideaNeurodiversity

My autism journey: how I learned to stop trying to fit in

Louise Smith

A smiling boy underwater in a swimming pool with eyes closed. Water is clear and blue with light reflections.

essayNeurodiversity

Against neurodiversity

The movement has good intentions, but it favours the high-functioning and overlooks those who struggle with severe autism

Moheb Costandi

Abstract painting with bold smears of red and pink on a dark background featuring expressive, swirling strokes.

videoNeurodiversity

The work of a sleepwalking artist offers a glimpse into the fertile slumbering brain

4 minutes

Illustration of a large ear floating in dark blue water against a black background, with small light blue waves around it.

videoConsciousness and altered states

‘Now I will do nothing but listen’ – Walt Whitman on how sound shapes the self

3 minutes

A painting of a wide-eyed figure peeking through a slightly opened door in warm sepia tones.

videoLove and friendship

Dances and giggles and stars: two men with Down syndrome fall in love

11 minutes

A beach with people enjoying activities; some fly kites, others relax on the sand, with the ocean in the background.

essayNeurodiversity

Autism from the inside

Too many depictions of autistic people rely on tired clichés. The neurotypical world needs to take note of our own voices

Katherine May