'Neurodiversity awareness growing in Guernsey'

Steph and her daughter Nola both identify as neurodivergent

An autistic mother says although people are beginning to normalise differences, many still treat neurodivergency "as a medical condition a lot of the time".

"If you had a flower that wasn't growing, you'd change the environment, you wouldn't change the flower," said Steph, who lives in Guernsey.

She and her daughter Nola have shared their experiences of being neurodivergent as part of Neurodiversity Celebration Week.

It encourages people across the British Isles to think about and celebrate neurodiversity, as well as challenge stereotypes people might have about it.

Neurodiversity is used to describe the different thinking styles that influence how people communicate with the world around them.

It includes autism, ADHD, dyslexia, dyspraxia, dyscalculia and Tourette's.

About 15-20% of all the people living in the world are thought to have a neuro-difference. No two people will be affected in the same way.

Simple changes

Steph said: "Neurodivergent people are disabled by the world around them being designed for neurotypical minds.

"If a child can't sit still in the classroom, it's seen as there's something wrong with that child rather than that child's brain works better when they move."

Steph said her daughter Nola's school has been "amazing" with the adaptions she needed to get through the school day.

She wears ear defenders if the environment is too noisy for her and has a visual timetable to understand her routine.

Steph said: "Those accommodations have been simple and they're very small things, but for her they have made all the difference."

She said her daughter's experiences had helped several other children in her class: "Some other classmates have gone 'oh yeah, I find it too noisy too' and there is nothing wrong with that."