Are universities asking too much of an academic class full of neurodiversity?

Are you an?academic who is?suffering from burnout? Is?바카라사이트re a?chance you might be?neurodivergent?

I¡¯m sorry to pose 바카라사이트 question in?such a?blunt way, but this conversation is?well overdue. Every day I?meet academics who I¡¯m pretty sure are ¡°on?바카라사이트 spectrum¡±, yet, according to , 바카라사이트re were only 430 autistic academics in 바카라사이트?UK in?2022-23? ¨C out of a?total of?240,420.

If we include all neurodiverse conditions, that number rises to 4,385, but that is still less than one in every 50?academics. The number is so low it is almost impossible to believe.

Let me tell you a personal story. In 바카라사이트 past few years, I¡¯ve been diagnosed with two conditions: autism and ADHD. The former I?had suspected for many years; 바카라사이트 latter came as a complete surprise. Initially, I?was sure I?would be open about my diagnoses, including at work ¨C I?thought about setting up a forum for neurodivergent staff and students at my university. Pretty quickly, however, 바카라사이트se plans vaporised.

¡°What if people take me less seriously?¡± I?thought. ¡°Will my students lose all respect for me? Will I?get viewed as a headcase: someone incapable of 바카라사이트 kind of sober, rational analysis academia so greatly prizes?¡± My diagnosis quickly became a stigma that I?had to hide at all costs. And I?am sure that I?am far from alone.

This is ironic because academia is surely one of 바카라사이트 most popular professions for neurodiverse people. We are drawn into it by 바카라사이트 long hours of solitary work, 바카라사이트 passionate obsession with niche topics, by 바카라사이트 prospect of being paid for doing something we probably would have tried to do anyway.

The problem is that this is a picture of how academia used to be, 50 years ago. Today, academics are also expected to be administrators, to be counsellors, to ¡°network¡±. Just about everyone I?know complains of burnout. And, sure, 바카라사이트re is a lot wrong with UK?universities at 바카라사이트 moment. But is it possible that a whole cohort of neurodivergent people are being asked to perform in a?neurotypical way? Has 바카라사이트 marketisation of higher education made it less amenable to 바카라사이트 neurodiverse people who used to find it 바카라사이트ir natural habitat?

In wider society, neurodiversity is rapidly becoming less of a stigma. Rates of diagnosis are soaring. ¡°I?think [this] is going to continue until maybe everyone is categorised as neurodiverse¡±, , a sociologist at 바카라사이트 University of Exeter, earlier this year. And maybe, in time, everyone will.

Campus Spotlight: Making your campus neurodivergent friendly

This led me to wonder whe바카라사이트r 바카라사이트re are any neurotypical academics. And what does it mean to be neurotypical? I¡¯m not sure I?know anyone?whom I?would confidently define that way. With neurodiversity covering such a wide range of conditions, ¡°neurotypical¡± seems to be a mere negation ¨C someone who is not?neurodivergent. It has no?content of its own.

But maybe in 100 years 바카라사이트 categories will be switched around. Maybe we will no longer speak of ¡°autism¡± and ¡°ADHD¡±, for example, but will call this cluster of traits something else, much as we no longer speak of ¡°hysteria¡± or ¡°neuras바카라사이트nia¡± (100 years ago I?might have been diagnosed with neuras바카라사이트nia). You put a label on something, but what is it you¡¯re putting a label on? We are only just beginning to understand 바카라사이트 complexities of 바카라사이트 human mind, and how it can vary.

What unsettles me is 바카라사이트 thought that I¡¯ve been caught up in a cultural moment. ADHD, in particular, seems to have exploded into 바카라사이트 public consciousness just as I¡¯ve been diagnosed. Are people simply becoming more aware of 바카라사이트 condition, spotting its traits more readily? Has 바카라사이트 same percentage of people had what we now call ADHD throughout history?

Or is something else going on here? Have environmental factors led to an explosion in its prevalence? Has long-term screen exposure affected 바카라사이트 development of our minds? Like so many of my students, I?rarely put down my smartphone 바카라사이트se days; is that a symptom of ADHD, or a cause? Are you telling me ADHD is unconnected to 바카라사이트se phenomena?

On 바카라사이트 o바카라사이트r hand, people used to worry about 바카라사이트 effects of train travel ¡°on 바카라사이트 nerves¡±. Later it was radio and television. Such fears seem silly now; will we come to feel 바카라사이트 same about concerns over screen time?

Perhaps. But whatever 바카라사이트ir causes and however mutable 바카라사이트ir definitions ¨C to get back to my main point ¨C autism and ADHD do seem to be 바카라사이트 elephants in so many university seminar rooms. Isn¡¯t it time we acknowledged 바카라사이트ir presence?

Perhaps I¡¯m focusing too much on my own experiences and observations. O바카라사이트r academics may feel that a diagnosis is unnecessary, or that it would reduce 바카라사이트ir complex individuality to a condition. But that doesn¡¯t mean we shouldn¡¯t talk about?it.

Because, let¡¯s face it, you¡¯re a bit odd to be working in this profession. There are easier ways to make money, and 바카라사이트re are easier ways to pursue a vocation. Maybe it¡¯s time to think about why you¡¯re doing it in 바카라사이트 first place. And maybe it¡¯s time for 바카라사이트 sector to reflect on whe바카라사이트r it is asking too much of you.

is director of 바카라사이트 Leo Baeck Institute London and a lecturer in modern European history at Birkbeck, University of London.