I’ve never felt so seen! Thank you for this reflection 💖
I’ve spent so much time trying to square my classification as an “introvert” with the ways I’m energized by connecting with people. This is making me realize that maybe “introversion” and “extroversion” are insufficient, neurotypical characteristics that don’t account for how many of us engage with other people.
I appreciate the pairing of, on the one hand, the value of letting people be who they are without pushing neurodiverse people to mask -- and the notion that accountability and conflict resolution are important for real intimacy, and sometimes that means taking accountability for unintended harm caused in the fraught spaces you mention. I think about this a lot as an educator -- about how to support my fellow neurodivergent students who may also have trauma or rejection sensitive dysphoria that makes saying “my bad, I’m sorry” feel very hard for them, within an antiracist learning community in which we value real repair after rupture. No firm answers yet, but grateful for the conversation.
Thanks for sharing these thoughts, Ryan. This is aligned with the work I do at Wautistic Wayfinder, helping neurodivergent people who have access to whiteness to develop accountability while respecting their mindbody features.
I’ve never felt so seen! Thank you for this reflection 💖
I’ve spent so much time trying to square my classification as an “introvert” with the ways I’m energized by connecting with people. This is making me realize that maybe “introversion” and “extroversion” are insufficient, neurotypical characteristics that don’t account for how many of us engage with other people.
Yes! They are based on an overly simplistic view of what we give and get from human interaction and seem to skip over what we actually need.
I appreciate the pairing of, on the one hand, the value of letting people be who they are without pushing neurodiverse people to mask -- and the notion that accountability and conflict resolution are important for real intimacy, and sometimes that means taking accountability for unintended harm caused in the fraught spaces you mention. I think about this a lot as an educator -- about how to support my fellow neurodivergent students who may also have trauma or rejection sensitive dysphoria that makes saying “my bad, I’m sorry” feel very hard for them, within an antiracist learning community in which we value real repair after rupture. No firm answers yet, but grateful for the conversation.
Thanks for sharing these thoughts, Ryan. This is aligned with the work I do at Wautistic Wayfinder, helping neurodivergent people who have access to whiteness to develop accountability while respecting their mindbody features.