I’m very proud of William & Mary’s neurodiversity initiative.  I’m even prouder to see other schools following our lead.  Making college campuses more accepting of the neurodiverse is an important step toward making a more ND-friendly world. 

It’s time for neurodiverse faculty to come out, and stand as role models for students and staff.  Everyone knows how autism, ADHD, dyslexia and other neurodiverse conditions disable us as children. What we need to balance that are successful adults who attribute their achievements in part to neurodiversity.

Unfortunately, it’s not so easy to get college staffers to come out, as this letter demonstrates:

How can we expect faculty to announce their own neurodiversity when they see discrimination against neurodiverse people?  I would not have fear about speaking out at William & Mary, because neurodiversity advocacy is my role. But even here at this college, with a provost who's a vocal advocate of our mission, faculty tell me they are afraid to come out, as in this exchange:

What’s the answer to this dilemma?  I believe it comes down to courage and passion.  We must be brave enough to announce our neurodiversity to the world, knowing some will embrace us but others will discriminate against us.  We must speak up even knowing there may be a personal cost before there is a collective gain.  And that’s where passion comes in – we must believe in our cause so much that we push through the negative personal consequences in pursuit of a greater goal for all.

On college campuses, we must recognize that there are barriers to both students and staff coming out, and we should encourage both. 

What are some thoughts for bringing this about?

John Elder Robison

All words and images (c) 2015 John Elder Robison