Neurodivergence: Challenging Marginalizing Biases and Highlighting the Benefit of Neurodiversity in Engineering and Aerospace

Society often overlooks neurodiversity in broader discussions of Diversity, Equity,Inclusion, and Accessibility. Conditions like Autism and Attention Deficit HyperactivityDisorder are more prevalent than many realize in technical fields. They also manifest in muchmore varied and nuanced ways than most people realize. Social misperceptions, limitations inthe means and method of description and assessment for these and other conditions, andgeneral normative biases create significant stigma and shame which tend to have adramatically marginalizing effect on those with divergent neurological function. If we seek tothrive as an industry, it behooves us to challenge normative and limiting expectations on howcolleagues should look, communicate, interact, and function in the workplace and embraceand leverage the benefits that varied perspectives and approaches bring to bear.