Neurodiversity: "Superpowers" that "Tore Apart The Stigma" with Dr. Wurzman

The interns began their day with a lecture from Dr. Rachel Wurzman, who talked about the relationship between neuroscience and neurodivergence. She explained the nuance in theories about labeling for different behavioral and brain styles and profiles throughout history. As an advocate for neurodivergence, Dr. Wurzman inspired interns to embrace the diversity in their brains. They learned that there is so much value in different perspectives and unique experiences. For example, she praised how individuals with ADHD can often hyperfocus on passion projects, and have particularly creative ideas as a result. According to Aditi Bindra, “Neurodiversity plays a big role in research, because it’s the differences in humanity that make humanity what it is. It can be a valuable asset in research, as it brings unique perspectives and approaches to problem-solving. I think that mental health studies should be to give comfort to those who need it, and an aid when they need help. I think the purpose of mental health studies serves as a bridge of understanding, where human beings can come together in order to look at the unique capabilities different people have in order to work together towards new ideas and perspectives.”

Dr. Wurzman also talked about the relationship between clinical mental health and holistic approaches to mental health. According to one of our interns, “When listening to the lecture about ADHD, I thought about all of the times I compared myself to the symptoms of it. It made me feel comforted to be in a room with people who were accepting of all of this neurodiversity”.

Dr. Wurzman also talked about how the standards for neuro normality change all the time, such as when hysteria and melancholy were prominent illnesses in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual. Dr. Wurzman’s lecture uplifts neurodivergent voices, and hopefully inspired students to be more open to diverse groups of thinkers. According to Jaime Leizan, “This lecture taught me that neurodiversity is something that isn’t negative, and in fact it’s a ‘superpower’ in some cases. Dr. Wurzman, showed me all the different cases and spoke of the different spectrums in certain neurological disorders and I found it fascinating. She tore apart the stigma that all neurological conditions are bad.”