Neurodiversity and Mediation

What is Neurodiversity?

The word “Neurodiversity” expresses the fact that every person has a different brain and nervous system, and experiences and thinks about the world around them in different ways.

It is often used in the context of thinking about different “neurotypes” – for example autism, ADHD, learning disabilities, dyslexia, Tourette syndrome, neurotypical and others. It may not always be 100% clear what neurotype someone is, and they might have multiple neurotypes.

The word “neurotypical” is used to refer to the neurotype that the majority of the population is. The words “neurodivergent” or “neurominority” are used to refer to the group of people who are not neurotypical.

People from different neurotypes may well perceive the world very differently from each other. They might have different communication styles, different ways of working, different values and different strengths and weaknesses.

Neurodiversity in the Workplace

Neurodiversity in the workplace is commonly seen as a positive thing – it is often helpful to have a work team with a variety of ways of seeing problems and solutions, and a variety of strengths and areas of expertise.

Neurodivergence is a “protected characteristic” in UK employment law. Staff members must not be discriminated against on the basis of neurotype, and are entitled to “reasonable adjustments” required as a consequence of their neurotype.

But, of course, seeing the world differently, and having differing values and communication styles, can often lead to conflict between team members. This can be especially true when different team members are different neurotypes.

Neurodiversity and Mediation

In any Workplace Mediation, the Mediator will help the team members in conflict to think through the causes of their conflict. The conflict may be caused by, or exacerbated by, differences in values or communication style.

The Mediator can then help team members to recognise where the other team members’ styles might be different, but still valid, and help all the parties to find a way of getting the best from everyone.

This is particularly relevant for teams with a variety of neurotypes. There may be individuals with completely different perspectives on the world, and how they, and other team members, should behave at work. Having a Mediator come in from outside the team can help all team members to value these differences, and mitigate the challenges they may cause.