A Dip Into Unheard Neurodivergent Voices
How finding my inner DJ is helping solve a huge data problem.
The First Spark: Internal Contradictions
As I was writing in my diary—full of internal contradictions—I realised my words somewhat echoed the powerful video Be a Lady, They Said by Cynthia Nixon. It’s about the contradictions of being a woman in society (it’s brilliant—please watch if you haven’t). Except my focus was on ableist narratives, ideals, and contradictions.
Rather than trying to mirror our inner voices with answers, I wanted to mimic the inner layers of the neurodivergent community—those voices that are often kept in our heads and systematically silenced through shame. So, together with a few ND advocates, I created (and narrated) a poem that speaks to both my own experience and the voices of other neurodivergent people.
It’s a reflection of the paradoxical, haunting space we navigate every day. Even more harrowing? My mother described it as me rapping. Brilliant. 👍🏽
I thereby introduce you to 'ND Voices' by the amateur DJ and film editor Millie (again).. 👇🏽 🤪
This video is a neater and less messy (would you believe) version of the voices that are often floating in neurodivergent minds as a baseline. We aren’t starting from 0, but 100. 🙃
I am not classified as non-verbal, but when I am excited, nervous or overwhelmed (ironically not in the traditional contexts like public speaking) finding my sentences is like trying to build a castle under water, where nothing seems to stick and I run out of breath pretty quickly. 🌊 🧱 🏰
Neurodivergence and Oracy 🗣️
Let's talk about voice. Oracy, the ability to express ourselves through spoken language, is not one-size-fits-all. For neurodivergent people, traditional understandings of communication don’t quite fit, where many have non-verbal episodes or rely on non verbal communication methods entirely.
So let’s have a quick breakdown (my favourite) of how communication actually works across different modes, why neurodiverse minds find this hard and why we need to reframe our expectations and approaches:
Physical: Includes voice projection, using eye contact, and gestures → even on a good day eye contact is hard, but gestures and signs can help a lot in getting through. 🙈 👍🏽
Cognitive: Is about organising the content of your speech → hard when you have over 100 contrasting thoughts + sensory stimuli + and are system thinkers which means every detail can be and therefore is relevant - which is challenging in a real-time expression window ⏳
Linguistic: Involves using appropriate vocabulary and choosing the right language for different occasions → Neurodivergent minds see things beyond context and so on the spot curation has to be learnt and taught, where an intelligent guess wont always cut it. 🧱
Social and Emotional: Includes working with others, taking turns, and developing confidence in speaking. → having trouble with the above can make one hesitant, confused as what to say, and delay speaking. Shame and confusion often results when we haven’t got it right because we care so much more than people realise. ✨
You can see how this either results in a) old fashioned ridicule of neurodivergent minds b) their dismissal or c) often at best being spoken for!
Data gap ⚠️
I wanted to show you some real data on neurodivergent minds in this video. The kind that’s often stuck in our heads: repeating, relentless, perpetual in motion, and masked to death and often systemically silenced for the comfort of others. 🌪️
Much like reporting on sustainability - biased from being centred on the Global North’s perspective and how it impacts them 🌍 - inclusion often takes a similar turn in defining symptoms based on the neurotypical perspective as opposed to the internal experience it self 🫠.
As a data scientist, this second hand and inferred data gives me the ‘ick’ as I know we are knocking at the wrong door. 🚪 Since, the very voices that we need to hear are not being heard—and worse, being spoken for. 😬 🚨
💬 So, What Do We Do?
1. FOR Neurotypical minds 👉
Make room to listen. It’s about giving people space and patience to assemble so they have the capacity to speak for themselves. Perhaps explore other methods that can help make a busy mind comfortable and able to articulate and break thoughts down to modublisable sentences. Just seeing a person open to this can ease the pressure 👌🏽
2. FOR Neurodivergent minds 👉
Having example sentences or even video templates to help organise your words around - for example I have found these starter sentences from the Voice 21 charity a game changer in assembling thoughts when I am stuck⚡️
I know this isn’t the complete picture, but we have to start from somewhere. 🎬
I’d love to hear your thoughts on this so feel free to comment, message or share any notes you have on this! The more experiences the better and in the meantime, enjoy the rap. 🎧 🌯 🎵 Thanks to Joe Simpson artist for helping make this video and for the neurodivergent community in contributing and consulting on this video - Elodie Garceau, Rosie Mellors, Hana Walker Brown, and many others which are anonymised. 🌸