Spectrumal Awareness (New Word)

Covid opened the door, for ALL OF SOCIETY, to a room from which society will never escape. It is funny, perhaps, that the black plague, or some other named medical event, changed society centuries ago.

“What”, you say?

The plague forced those in power to actually tender money to workers. Prior to that time, those outside the ruling class provided services in exchange for a place to live and food to eat that made its way to them from those in control. Those that did not have such status had to steal food, etc. (Just check out those that were shipped to Australia for crimes of stealing food for their family in Ireland, etc.) Anyway, there were not enough mere volunteers to take care of the needs of the Lords, whose land ownership emanated from the King, such that the lords had to pay for services. A new class of laborers was created in the process. (There is more here and history buffs could expand this greatly.)

Now to the present times. The covid separation and segregation of us all revealed, to those who have peculiarities, when compared to what is considered normal and customary by those who run “business” in the world, that they are valuable to the business runners even though they did not naturally fit the rhythm in which the businesses had been happily operating. Once they were off the premises they found they were more comfortable psychologically, and physically, than when they had to be part of the herd in the buildings in which everyone was at a desk or cubical, or a production machine or some other place of gathering. This was also true for the service “industry”, engineering, estimating, and on and on. (Sales had been walking the covid type path anyway.)

The phrase, characterization, categorization of “Neurodivergency” (apparently, I just created that word based upon spell check) has been articulated to a greater number of those folks who might well be entitled to recognition based upon the path(s) that their brain and body tread naturally.  What follows here is pure observation on my part, without any thought to applying science to what I have observed – over my entire life.

Lets establish this from the start

• Those characteristics that would cast a person as exhibiting Neurodivergency are, literally well represented by the term “spectrum”, which is applied to them overtly. It turns out that each one of us who comprise humanity has a spectrum of abilities/detriments (which go well beyond those of which “we” are aware). Every such data point type measurement is likely to be measurable as a double edged sword. But, it is not always that each side is as sharp as the opposite such that both cuts are equally impactful.
• On each spectrum choice there is a middle group that would be in the bell curve of any measurement applied to determining a data point for each in the world. Lets just look at them for this discussion. They can operate pretty close to the rhythm of the dance they learned from being taught in a school system that is geared to those middle 80. (It expressly sidelined the lowest 10% aggregate individuals and can’t afford to move anywhere near the speed that the 90^th percentile can move.) Those that might have a “quirk” in any part of their approach to life, would end up being taught to moderate it to the extent that they can, in order to be in rhythm with the public dance of school. That dance becomes the dance of work in many instances, in the collective dance of society, but with a different conductor targeting different goals.
• Even “Highly” measured spectrum people, of any ilk of data, say those that are in the 99^th percentile of a measurement line item, can overcome some desire they have for the rhythm of the dance, in order to adapt to an overriding rhythm, while maintaining their persona rhythm. The middle 80, though, likely subdue part of their rhythm, though, in order to be in harmony with what is doing on.

Now, here we are:

Covid exposed to a great percentage of the population how they were not “at ease” in the dance of the work space. Now, it is not a universal point of friction that is shared, merely that your individual “problem” was exposed to you as an adult.

 
Here is what I find encouraging about this all. Everyone is realizing, on some level, that they are an odd ball when compared to others. Even those in a fraternity or sorority (analogy/metaphor?), who grew up in the dance of a certain rhythm, are discovering that they are happy with a different footwork of some kind, which again, would be individually recognized because of the years that had gone by.

The issue now becomes: What can be done for the process such that this awareness of universal uniqueness is respected going forward?

This seems to me like an evolutionary step that is taking place. It is a first step and those have been traditionally resisted such that they have taken decades and centuries to move even a little down the path suddenly exposed. However, in the world today of much higher communication and awareness, perhaps the changes will be exponentially quicker, as have other measurable “things” become by application of digital communication of all kinds!

Kids nowadays will grow up with a greater awareness and acceptance of the “spectrumal” concepts. (another new word) All us old folks will move to the back of the train, or off the tracks on a siding.

Here is what AI says about my piece: “The content explores the idea that the COVID-19 pandemic has revealed the value of neurodiverse individuals in the workplace and society as a whole. It suggests that society is realizing the importance of embracing and respecting the uniqueness of each individual.”