While the Indian education system identifies individuals with learning disabilities like dyslexia, dyspraxia and autism. There is no mention of ADHD or ADD or the combination of autism and ADHD (AuADHD).
Neurodivergent are those individuals who are different from the rest of the crowd. Your typical out of the box people, innovative thinkers or the deeply empathic. Heroes in their own right for navigating and surviving a world that isn’t designed for them. Commonly told to ‘stop being lazy’ when they are cognitively overloaded or dopamine low. ‘Pay more attention’ or ‘stop day dreaming’ are other common reprimands.
The majority of Indian neurodivergent individuals either drop out of the higher education system or seek international options at a costly price, where they are allowed extra time for processing exams and assignments. In India, the lack of awareness, feeble infrastructure in terms of qualified or trained teachers can be chased back to a lack of resources absorbed in corruption or lack of availability. In this highly populated country of competitive exams, there is no structure in the syllabus that in 2026 are written in the same lecture monotone and long paragraphs as though it were a literature novel.
I recently attended an Alumni UK discussion hosted by the British Council - “Rethinking Talent: Building Neuro-Inclusive Workplaces in South Asia” from which my thoughts on the key takeaways are:
The biggest dilemma is whether to disclose neurodivergence or not. Experts on the panel recommended that if you could negotiate without disclosure then that is the way forward, to not take the chance to be stigmatised against.
The policy exists, but it is individuals and private companies who have to be accepting and willing to hire and make simple accommodations like noise cancelling headphones, an additional monitor, respecting a ‘do-not-disturb’ time blocked slot, recorded meetings that can be played back and maintaining a calm atmosphere.
Usually, neurodivergent individuals require additional time, space and reminders to manage energy levels (from hyper productivity to low or below par (for women, especially with fluctuations in hormones as their monthly cycle progresses)). Weekly, fortnightly or monthly check-ins are a great way to ensure progress and productivity.
Neurodivergents thrive in clearly communicated and predictable roles. Daily or weekly planning can remove decision fatigue in terms of what to work on next, or even provide a little bit of flexibility for entertaining ad-hoc requests between certain times, when energy levels are tapering from working solo. Discussions and dialogue can revitalise the mind.
My closing thought: when will we really embrace unity in (neuro)diversity?
Please share your thoughts and experiences on leveraging your neurodivergence professionally, and (if available) the resources your employer supports you with.
Neurodivergent are those individuals who are different from the rest of the crowd. Your typical out of the box people, innovative thinkers or the deeply empathic. Heroes in their own right for navigating and surviving a world that isn’t designed for them. Commonly told to ‘stop being lazy’ when they are cognitively overloaded or dopamine low. ‘Pay more attention’ or ‘stop day dreaming’ are other common reprimands.
The majority of Indian neurodivergent individuals either drop out of the higher education system or seek international options at a costly price, where they are allowed extra time for processing exams and assignments. In India, the lack of awareness, feeble infrastructure in terms of qualified or trained teachers can be chased back to a lack of resources absorbed in corruption or lack of availability. In this highly populated country of competitive exams, there is no structure in the syllabus that in 2026 are written in the same lecture monotone and long paragraphs as though it were a literature novel.
I recently attended an Alumni UK discussion hosted by the British Council - “Rethinking Talent: Building Neuro-Inclusive Workplaces in South Asia” from which my thoughts on the key takeaways are:
The biggest dilemma is whether to disclose neurodivergence or not. Experts on the panel recommended that if you could negotiate without disclosure then that is the way forward, to not take the chance to be stigmatised against.
The policy exists, but it is individuals and private companies who have to be accepting and willing to hire and make simple accommodations like noise cancelling headphones, an additional monitor, respecting a ‘do-not-disturb’ time blocked slot, recorded meetings that can be played back and maintaining a calm atmosphere.
Usually, neurodivergent individuals require additional time, space and reminders to manage energy levels (from hyper productivity to low or below par (for women, especially with fluctuations in hormones as their monthly cycle progresses)). Weekly, fortnightly or monthly check-ins are a great way to ensure progress and productivity.
Neurodivergents thrive in clearly communicated and predictable roles. Daily or weekly planning can remove decision fatigue in terms of what to work on next, or even provide a little bit of flexibility for entertaining ad-hoc requests between certain times, when energy levels are tapering from working solo. Discussions and dialogue can revitalise the mind.
My closing thought: when will we really embrace unity in (neuro)diversity?
Please share your thoughts and experiences on leveraging your neurodivergence professionally, and (if available) the resources your employer supports you with.
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