When my youngest son was diagnosed with ADHD in 2016, I came to realise that there’s a whole community of young neurodivergent people that I didn’t even realise existed before that time. I was one of the many parents entering a different world, a new and neurodivergent territory that I didn’t understand.

I used to think that these differences needed to be fixed, that the people representing “square pegs” should be treated and manipulated and made to fit the round holes around them.  I was wrong.  I have learned that to try and make those people change or be fixed, is to send them the message that there is something wrong with them and I soon learned that is simply not true.  My own children have taught me that their differently wired brains are beautiful, unique and that they are rich with a perspective that shines their light so bright.

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Through parent advocacy, reading, learning and being with neurodivergent people, I have come to learn that the poor outcomes experienced by so many in the neurodivergent community must be addressed.  People can and should come together to embrace difference, include neurodivergent people in our schools, our communities and workplaces.