Central London Lawyer February 2022

ARTICLE

Wired differently?

By Haravneet Jabble, Paralegal

What is Neurodiversity? Jonathan Andrews explained that neurodiversity is essentially a ‘different wiring’ of the brain. This definition was given on the 25th of January 2022 by Jonathan when he gave a presentation for the Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Committee regarding neurodiversity and the legal profession.

The term neurodiversity includes conditions such as autism, ADHD, Tourette’s syndrome, Dyspraxia and, Dyslexia. This was a really important list for me, as it was at that point that I discovered that I had a neurodiversity. I know that it may seem obvious to many of you reading this, but I had never thought that Dyslexia was a condition that was considered a type of neurodiversity. I knew that Dyslexia was considered a disability under the Equality Act 2010, I just had not made the connection that it was also a type of neurodiversity. This was both educational and surprising for me.

The presentation I was attending on the premise of learning more about equality, diversion and inclusion, had now become very personal. I learned about dyslexia and some of the strengths of those who are neurodivergent, such as commitment and loyalty, which I hope relate to me. Moreover, I also learned about some of the strengths that do not relate to me. Such as, punctuality. If you were to ask any of my family or friends, they would all tell you that I am notoriously late.

One part of the presentation that was of particular interest to me was the section on some of the barriers that exist that inhibit someone with a neurodiversity from entering employment. Within this section one of the barriers discussed was psychometric testing. I think that this is important to consider from an employment point of view as it was stated that this is a significant barrier. The reason being that psychometric tests are a standardised test that does not take into consideration the individual differences of a person and how they process information.

In addition, there has been evidence to show that there is no link between the test score and how the job is being performed. As Jonathan stated, neurodiversity is the different wiring of the brain, not the wrong wiring of the brain and psychometric tests do not take these differences into account.

The concluding point, and I think the most significant point, is that all types of business would benefit for a diverse workforce and benefits from the skills that people with a neurodiversity would bring. But in order to make this happen, they must first feel like they are welcome. ■

Slides from the presentation “Neurodiversity and the Legal Profession: Inclusion and Innovation” by Jonathan Andrews.

Haravneet Jabble