Neurodiversity

Seven years in the making, the Travelability Accessibility Playbook, created in partnership with Destinations International, is an end-to-end toolkit to equip destination organizations on their accessibility journey, enabling them to better welcome and accommodate people with disabilities within their destination. 

NEUROCOGNITIVE DISABILITIES 

Neurodivergence describes individuals  whose neurological development  and functioning differ from what is typically considered “normal” or “neurotypical.”  This includes people with conditions such as  autism spectrum disorder (ASD), attention deficit  hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), dyslexia, dyspraxia,  Tourette syndrome, PTSD, and more.  

Being neurodivergent is not a deficit but rather reflects natural variations in human neurological  development. They may face challenges in social  communication, sensory processing, executive  function, and emotional regulation. Individuals  with PTSD often have heightened or altered  sensory processing. Everyday stimuli like loud  noises, bright lights, crowds or unexpected touch  can be perceived as threats, triggering a fight,  flight or freeze response. Environments that are too stimulating or unpredictable can become overwhelming very quickly. 

Eight Myths about Autism  

by Peter Wharmby 

1. Autistic people don’t feel empathy.  The majority of us feel enormous amounts  of empathy, even for non-living things, and  especially for animals. 

2. Autistic people can’t make eye contact.  Some of us don’t seem to mind it at all, whilst  the many of us who hate it can force ourselves to when we feel it’s necessary. 

3. Autistic males are far more common  than autistic females. The ratio is rapidly shifting to being more balanced as diagnostic  understanding improves.  

4. Autistic people don’t have a sense of  humor. I mean, some of us don’t, and some of us have what may be seen as a ‘different’ sense of  humor, but there are a lot of funny autistic people out there, including those who do comedy professionally. 

5. Autistic people have learning disabilities.  In fact a surprisingly low percentage of autistic  people have co-occurring learning disabilities. However, people with learning disabilities are  much more likely to be autistic too. 

6. Autistic people are all antisocial. Many of  us may be asocial from trauma associated with  social interaction, but it seems many of us are  quite gregarious and even extroverted.  

7. Autistic people are all STEM subject  specialists. Though plenty are, there are many  of us who have skills, jobs and qualifications in  the humanities, arts and other fields. 

8. Autistic people are all super-gifted in  some way. Though some of us might be  skilled in certain areas, and some of us might  have excellent memories, plenty of us are  perfectly average.  

A WARM WELCOME 

• Respect Individual Differences: Recognize that neurodivergent individuals have  diverse experiences, strengths, and challenges.  

• Listen and Validate: Listen attentively to  the person’s perspectives, experiences, and  preferences.  

• Respect Interests: Respect the individual’s  personal space, boundaries, and ways of  interacting. Ask for consent before initiating  physical contact or offering assistance and  respect their right to decline if they are not  comfortable. Do not pressure the individual  to conform to neurotypical norms such as eye  contact and hand shaking