WHAT'S NORMAL?

Growing up I never felt like I fitted in. Always seeming 'different' from my peers, being very self-conscious in everything that I did. People could see that too, becoming the butt of jokes, most of it coming across as harmless fun but it added up, having an affect on my confidence as a young man.

Education too was challenging when it came to learning from books, my mind becoming quickly fatigued from reading endless pages of text. I often struggled to grasp basic concepts. becoming labelled as not very capable. My fidgeting in class was endless (and I still is!). Learning through visual or active interaction was a different story however. I was engaged and seemed to have a capacity beyond others, but these classes were vocational and not a core component of the curriculum. Consequently any abilities within this space weren't noted.

I just never felt 'normal', butting up against the fringes of social and educational environments that everyone else seemed to easily move around in. I did however manage to excel at learning a second and third language. It wasn't through uninspiring text books, but initially through two teachers in college who taught through activities and then, once in country, through joining up with activity groups and reading outdoor magazines. I never understood at the time, but learning through mediums that interested and inspired me, instead of the prescribed pathways in school, was the key element. To this day there's still a fluency in the second language.

Seen as a loner by many as I was happy in my own company, but it was always in an active capacity when I was younger - being creative with painting and building figurines or out running with the family dog. Discovering cycling in my late teens added another element where I felt content and calm. Without realising at the time, sport was my medication, 'treating' my ADD. Conversely it was actually my adventure sport that gradually created connections with social groups, where I would otherwise feel uncomfortable. I felt 'normal' in this community where my contribution was valued.

Navigating the world of work has never been quite so straightforward, often having to put on a façade to appear 'normal' to fit in amongst colleagues as my mannerisms can be seen as 'odd'. You're often judged more for how you come across in the work space than the work you can do. It takes a good manager to look beyond your' differences' and understand your specific skills and how they can be best applied within the company. That need for almost daily activity to refresh the mind and body for the following day can cause conflict when it's more socially acceptable to head out for a beer after a long day's work. And you are judged on that as not being part of the team, despite positive feedback from clients.

It's not dissimilar in the physio world when patients ask 'is that normal?' where there's left to right asymmetries in morphology or muscle size/strength for example. My response is always the same, 'it's normal for you'. Society has simply constructed this perception of what is normal and labelling anything outside of that as abnormal, diverse or being incapable. We're only just starting to contradict this narrative, opening up about being 'different' but there's still a lot of prejudice and misunderstanding. Companies are starting to come on board with understanding the unique skills of the neuro-diverse mind and how best to use them, but it's time consuming. The net result however is better working relationships and a more efficient workforce.

Discovering much later in life that I am neuro-diverse answered a lot of questions about why I couldn't do certain things. I am good with that now and focus on what I CAN do with adventure sport as my key enabler. I feel that I can talk about it more too with increasingly more people being receptive, reducing the anxiety of feeling different. I'll always have my challenges, especially socially and in some work environments, but I am able to manage that better now. Changing societal perceptions is gradually gaining momentum with more information out there, but the long game is generating greater support at the school level.