Neurodivergence, as an impairment, unfolds to become a disability as social and educational institutions heavily lack in its recognition; resourcing for such students remains a dream.
Neurodivergence is an umbrella term that enlists to include people with atypical brains, which adds a difference to how they ecologically interact. It is inclusive of people with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), dyslexia, dyspraxia, dyscalculia, obsessive-compulsive disorder(OCD), and others.
There have been positive changes in terms of recognition and importance of mental health in India. However, all alerts and emphases on mental health leave out the back door when the shallowness of such a performance is exposed with the invisibility of neurodivergent students in academia. An understanding of “the mental” on educational campuses limits to only believing it as a wave of sadness and discomfort that needs counselling. This idea is reiterated with Delhi University’s Counselling Centre, which fails in its purpose to mention and include the experience of neurodivergence, even for namesake.
While the stigma and prejudice (along with other factors) around disorders limit accessibility to diagnosis, those already diagnosed have it no easier in navigating academic and university spaces. The confusion and strictness of college societies collude with a premodern educational setup to confound the sense of achievement and goodness that these spaces should be offering, very often becoming places of disinterest and hurt.
Recollecting her experience, Silvia Nath, a second-year student at Miranda House, who has been clinically diagnosed with ADHD, shares
In my first year, I completely detached myself from my department since my batchmates and teachers weren’t helpful and held stigmas around therapy and mental health. I was judged also for my food habits (as a non-vegetarian) along with my unwillingness to contribute to classes. This detachment caused a very low attendance, which again was a traumatic experience for me. Teachers have been harsh towards me and questioned my competence. Being happy should not be so normalised so that other spectrums of emotions are seen as unnatural and unhealthy.”
The general ignorance to this problem is reflected in the casual usage of medical terms amongst neurotypical people to express mood phases, which has inadvertently reduced the real symptoms to a bluff, non-serious setting of the mind—which can be auto-altered. Sharing rigid spaces like college societies with such groups that lack a reasonable understanding then becomes challenging.
In conversation with DU Beat, Debolina Bhattacharya, a graduate from Delhi University 2024 batch, shares,
I was working with a lot of neurotypical people, for sure, in my college society. Personally, it was not the best of times. It’s very hard to get along with people. I was told that I was overdoing things, talking too much, and other things that were singled out. Naturally, I prefer to do a lot of things together, which allows me to move from one thing to the next. But when you have to deal with people who don’t understand it and have very rigid ideas of how you’re supposed to behave, it becomes hard to curate your personality. I have reached a point, after college, to not hide who I am. But there was a demand to conform, to ‘fit in’ and it was made very clear that I wasn’t. The burnout was so severe that graduating college was what helped.”
(Debolina is a diagnosed neurodivergent person)
The range of exclusion and vulnerability expands when various markers of identity such as caste, class, gender, sexual identities, or geographical locations intersect. Students who are already disadvantaged are pushed deeper to the margins, where their potential is untapped, and their abilities are overlooked.
Norzin, a Ladakhi student, currently preparing for her NEET examination, has been diagnosed with OCD and anxiety.
Since I am currently preparing for NEET, I have faced challenges in staying organised due to the lack of a structured environment. I believe a college space with a more structured environment and access to resources and opportunities to interact with peers and professors would provide a more conducive environment for me to work and will help me to deal with my mental health issues more effectively.” – shares Norzin
Institutional reforms beginning from classroom recognition of neurodivergence and sensitisation towards it, are a good place to start when addressing the problem. Pedagogical methods that allow for behavioural support or interventions to promote communication in academic, social and everyday life skills should be used. Most essentially, kindness and empathy should be used to deal with and comprehend the nature of those around us, whether they are diagnosed or undiagnosed. It’s not a burden, but rather a responsibility.
Read also: Mental health societies in DU
Featured Image Credits: Education Times
Bhavana Bhaskar
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