A neurodiverse brain may have a lack of control of sensory and other information processing systems but this lends itself to a host of positive traits, neurodiverse brains tend to be fantastically creative and our ability to think outside the box and not comply to norms can be hugely beneficial.

A lack of interoception – thus not feeling scared or stressed easily lends itself to resilience and perseverance . This along with a single minded focus means I have a brain that once committed to a cause will see it through.

Control of sensory systems is however only a 1 dimensional theory. The human brain and autism is multi dimensional. So I like to think of the controls on our sensory systems as multi dimensional, the sliders not just moving up and down but in every conceivable direction – akin to the pattern of neurons in our brains which control and are controlled by our senses.

I visualise overload on my sensory and emotional processing systems as sliders moving in all direction’s outwith my window of tolerance , this means neurons in my brain fire rapidly in all directions triggering overload and fight, flight and freeze responses.

This also happens in a positive way when I’m doing something I love , even the smallest simplest things can have this effect , fluffy blankets, music, favourite scents, stimming , in this instance instead of overload , I think of these neurons firing but this time lighting up like a constellation of stars. This ties in nicely with the concept of glimmers.

If we support sensory and information processing systems through environment , communication styles and careful observation of our young people who struggle to communicate this we play to their strengths.

This is why relationships and human connections are so important – we need to know where these challenges and strengths lie and how we adapt the environment and communication accordingly. We need to find the triggers to minimise the chances of overload and crisis fight, flight, freeze response but more importantly we need to find the glimmers, find what calms, engages and inspires. This is where the connections and relationships which precede any teaching will stem from, this is how we can tap into the fantastically creative neurodiverse brain.