OP-ED: Neurodiversity as Part of Biodiversity: The Business Case for Inclusive Ecosystems.
Photo courtesy of Shana Francesca
OP-ED
BY SHANA FRANCESA | Concinnate LLC
We protect ecological diversity because ecosystems collapse without it.
Why wouldn’t we apply the same logic to humans and human cognition, the spaces we create in our communities, and the cultures we empower in our organizations, crafting them to embrace neurodiversity?
We seem to spend a lot of time separating ourselves from the rest of the living world, finding new ways to control our environments.
Maybe we don’t spend nearly enough time consciously considering that we are, in fact, nature. If we did, we might spend more time present with the reality that all life on earth exists because of overlapping interdependent ecosystems, and contemplate what that means for us as humans, and our connection to one another.
An ecosystem, as defined by National Geographic, is: A geographic area where plants, animals, and other organisms, as well as weather and landscape, work together to form a bubble of life.
A Bubble of Life. When I read that definition for the first time, I was stunned into silence and then did a happy dance. I had read quite a few definitions of ecosystems, but none felt alive, like they conveyed life at all. This one, this one is perfection.
A couple of things stand out to me. First, it acknowledges that biodiversity, a diverse array of life, working together for mutual thriving, is the basis of ecosystems and that this, this is what undergirds and perpetuates and creates the environment for life, for the living to live full and healthy lives.
Without neurological and intersectional diversity, and embracing the accountability that brings, harmful ideologies spread unchecked inside our communities and organizations, and this spells disaster.
We see how it has devastated communities and organizations alike through the numerous articles and documentaries available to us on everything from Clairol’s Touch of Yogurt Shampoo, to Jonestown, to WeWork, or we could think about all of the U.S. towns that relied on single industries that failed as those same industries shifted or collapsed.
There is a necessary level of inconvenience that being in community with a diverse array of people brings. With a diverse community comes varied lived experiences, different ways of developing, ways of viewing and interacting with the world, different understandings of how people are perceived and empowered, etc.
These varied understandings, when embraced, work to prevent us from moving forward with harmful or incomplete information, asking us to pause, learn more, and establish broader perspectives before moving forward.
Einstein did not speak until he was three. We do not know if he was autistic, and quite frankly, it doesn’t matter. What I want to highlight is that people show up in myriad ways, and their brilliance is valuable.
What if we worked to create a world where we thought of ourselves as part of a diverse ecosystem of humans and built the world to reflect that? What if we build our communities in a way that includes and empowers the Einsteins, Breanna Clarks, and Temple Grandin’s of the world (but also don’t expect neurodivergent persons or any group of persons to be a monolith) because the reality is, that is what we’re meant to do as humans.
It is our diversity that contributes to our success as a species, a valuable reminder that we are nature and very much a part of the ecosystems all around us.
We all need to be seen, heard, understood, valued, and cared for, so I ask us all, what does it look like for us to build spaces, communities, and cultures that acknowledge and value the existence of all humans? Especially knowing that embracing diversity is not only beneficial but profitable (See Citibank Study on Diversity, published 2020), and ignoring or dismissing diversity comes at a significant cost. I want to live in a bubble of life, and I think you do too, so let’s embrace the living and get to work, together.
EDITOR’S NOTE: Shana Francesca is a keynote speaker, facilitator, consultant, ethical leadership architect intentional relationship champion and founder/CEO of Concinnate LLC. Reach her on Instagram at @ShanaFrancesca or website: https://www.concinnate.world/
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