Neurodiversity is natural variation
I understand neurodiversity as being about the natural variation in human brains and physiology and how we, individually, experience the world. This variation shapes how we process information, respond and react through our senses, and navigate our environments.
The labels of autism, ADHD, giftedness and others have been created to try to explain observations in how some people behave and respond differently from other people. However, over recent decades the focus has been much more on people’s internal experience than on observable behaviour. This has led to a blurring of the lines between the labels and it is clear that there are some experiences that are common to more than one or more of these labels.
Neurodivergence can be disabling
Autism, ADHD, dyslexia etc are not disabilities but these internal differences can be disabling—not because of inherent deficits, but because society and our environments are often designed as if we are all the same as the majority. Neurodivergent people may face barriers through sensory overwhelm, executive function challenges in rigid systems, social expectations that don't align with how we communicate, or educational and workplace structures that penalise different ways of thinking and learning. The disability emerges from this mismatch between our neurology and physiology and the way our constructed world is built and organised.
It’s all about intrinsic diversity
Neurodivergence also brings distinct ways of experiencing and engaging with the world that hold genuine value. Different neurological and physiological wiring means different strengths, perspectives, and contributions—intense focus, creative thinking, deep pattern recognition, rich sensory experiences, or passionate engagement with ideas. These aren't simply "positives" to balance against "negatives," but intrinsic aspects of human diversity that enrich our collective experience.
Giftedness as an aspect of neurodiversity
Giftedness can be a challenging thing to identify about ourselves. It can sound like a boast or a statement of superiority. Giftedness in children is often only identified through advanced achievement beyond the child’s expected achievement for their age but it isn’t really to do with achievement or performance The idea that IQ measures giftedness is outmoded. Giftedness is not a position on a line of intelligence.
While having a much higher than average IQ can be an indicator of intellectual giftedness, not all gifted people will test as having a high IQ. It’s not about what we achieve or what we are good at or successful at, but about internal variables. It is about emotional sensitivities and challenges that are not well understood in society and there are different ways in which an individual can be understood as gifted.
Jennifer Harvey Sallin of InterGifted has developed a holistic model recognising five forms of giftedness that can combine in unique ways for each individual:
Intellectual: Advanced reasoning, rapid learning, complex thinking and problem-solving.
Creative: Rich imagination, innovative thinking, and seeing novel connections.
Emotional: Deep emotional intensity, empathy, and capacity for profound connection.
Sensual: Heightened sensory awareness and intense aesthetic experiences.
Existential: Deep questioning about meaning and existence
These forms of giftedness very often interact with overexcitabilities to create each person's unique gifted profile. (Learn more at intergifted.com)
Overexcitabilities
Giftedness, autism, ADHD and other neurodivergent differences are often characterised by 'overexcitabilities' as described by psychologist Dabrowski—heightened intensities and sensitivities across five domains:
Psychomotor: Surplus of physical energy, restlessness, rapid speech, intense physical expression of emotion, or a need for movement.
Sensual: Heightened experience through the senses—intense pleasure or discomfort from sights, sounds, textures, tastes, or smells.
Intellectual: Deep curiosity, love of problem-solving, theoretical thinking, asking probing questions, and intense desire to understand and learn.
Imaginational: Rich imagination, vivid dreams, metaphorical thinking, creative visualization, and elaborate fantasy worlds.
Emotional: Intense feelings, strong emotional responses, deep empathy, complex emotions, strong attachments, and profound concern for others and moral issues.
These overexcitabilities mean experiencing life with particular depth and intensity. They shape both challenges and strengths—they can lead to overwhelm in environments not designed for intense experiencing, yet they also enable profound connection to ideas, creativity, sensory richness, and emotional depth.
Asynchronous development
Asynchronous development describes the uneven pace at which different areas of development progress—intellectual, emotional, physical, and social maturity don't advance at the same rate. This is common in gifted individuals, where intellectual capacity might far exceed emotional regulation skills, or where abstract reasoning develops well ahead of social understanding.
Sensory overwhelm
Sensory overwhelm occurs when our nervous system becomes flooded by sensory input—sounds, lights, textures, smells, or visual information that others might easily filter out. For many neurodivergent people, our sensory processing is more intense or operates differently, meaning we may perceive more detail, feel sensations more acutely, or struggle to tune out background stimuli. This can lead to physical discomfort, difficulty concentrating, emotional dysregulation, or complete shutdown. What might seem like a "normal" environment to others—a busy office, fluorescent lighting, multiple conversations—can become genuinely painful or impossible to navigate. Understanding and accommodating these sensory differences is essential for wellbeing.
Executive function deficits
Executive function is the set of mental processes that help us plan, organise, manage time, handle our emotions, and get things done. This includes skills like working memory, flexible thinking, and self-control. Many neurodivergent people, including those with ADHD, autism, and giftedness, have executive function differences. These might show up as struggles with starting tasks, switching between activities, managing multiple steps, or regulating emotional responses—not because we lack ability or motivation, but because our brains process and prioritise information differently. Understanding our executive function differences helps us find strategies that work with our neurology rather than against it.
Masking
Masking is the often exhausting process of hiding or suppressing our natural neurodivergent traits to fit neurotypical expectations. This might look like forcing eye contact, scripting social interactions, suppressing stimming behaviours, or constantly monitoring and adjusting our responses to appear "normal." While masking can help us navigate spaces not designed for us, it comes at a significant cost—increased anxiety, burnout, loss of authentic self-expression, and delayed understanding of our own needs. Many neurodivergent people, particularly those socialised as girls and women, become skilled maskers without even realising we're doing it, often only recognising the pattern when we begin to understand our neurodivergence.
Neurodivergence and me
I identify as neurodivergent. I probably would be diagnosed with ADHD and giftedness. This is sometimes termed ‘twice-exceptional’ or 2E. Whilst not diagnosed with ADHD, since I only came to this understanding in later life, I have traits that point to being an ADHDer and my giftedness manifests in various ways. These differences are simply part of who I am—influencing how I think, create, and engage with the world around me.
Despite many years of psychology and psychotherapy training until recent years I only knew that I had a high IQ and understood this to mean that I could be described as ‘gifted’. When I took the test in my early twenties it seemed to explain some of my experience - in particular the boredom I experienced with the pace of lessons at school. But this was a very one dimensional way to understand myself and did not explain a number of other ways that I felt and reacted.