Growing up in a Neurodiverse Household and the Importance of Atypically Edinburgh.

This article explains my experience being surrounded by neurodivergent people my entire life, and subsequently why this website holds so much meaning to me.

Growing up in a neurodiverse household has been interesting, not solely negative nor positive, but a mixture of the two that I would never change. Finding out my older brother has autism and ADHD didn't mean all that much to me due to being so young at the time. Although I did not fully understand the conditions, I would soon get a clear picture of the highs, lows and many misconceptions about neurodiversity. As a neurotypical person, I accept full awareness that I will never entirely understand how being neurodivergent feels. However, witnessing how certain conditions have impacted my siblings first-hand has given me as much insight as possible.

When my younger sister was born, I noticed various characteristics that made me wonder if she was also neurodivergent; I never viewed this as a negative thing. However, I wondered what impact this may have on her life. She was only 2 years old when she was diagnosed with autism, and she was not happy to find out this news several years later. It saddened me that she looked at this with such contempt.

As I entered my teenage years, I'd often hear remarks in school about people with additional needs. Slurs were thrown around as though they meant nothing, and anybody viewed as 'odd' for their communication style or particular interests was made to feel subpar. At this age, I wanted nothing more than to desperately fit in with my peers, to be liked and viewed as a person of worth. So, it hurt to think about how my siblings would cope in such a cookie-cutter environment. 1 in 7 people are neurodivergent, so it is confusing how quickly such a large group can be shunned away. Of course, this won't be the experience for some people, but for many, it is. This experience only makes it harder for the positives of neurodiversity to be highlighted, an aspect which I'm striving to achieve through Atypically Edinburgh. Neurodiversity is not all doom and gloom; a brain that works differently from the 'typical' is can have numerous positive assets.

People are far too quick to categorise neurodivergent people under one umbrella; almost as though if you're neurodiverse, you must relate to all other neurodiverse people. This misconception is not true; my siblings are complete opposites of one another. They display different symptoms, passions, and ways of thinking. My brother was educated in an additional needs school for autistic learners while my sister attends mainstream school, presenting entirely different experiences. This contrast is also something I want to capture; every neurodivergent person has their own unique story to tell, just like any other person in this world.

I have now entered my twenties, and my sister now enters the same years that is a struggle for anyone, let alone somebody who is neurodivergent. She sometimes tells me about situations that occur in school, and it makes me mad that such belittling behaviour still prevails even to this day. Neurodiversity awareness is still important, even in 2024.