Embrace Difference

For a Bigger Brain and a Better Heart

It is an altruistic theme, set to inspire a big global shift, this year for Autism awareness. The call to us all to ‘Embrace Difference’ evokes the deep human feelings of wanting to be and do better for a better world. It is a call we should listen to and act on.

But how do we really go about embracing difference? What do we have to do?

And, what happens to our brains when we open ourselves up to embracing difference of all kinds?

At TedX Macquarie University researcher Jac den Houting told us “Why everything [we] know about autism is wrong”. She reminds us that once, not so long ago, people all believed the earth was flat. That there are paradigm shifts that occur regularly in humankind when we realise that the underlying assumptions that we are basing our collective truth on are a bit old and flawed. With an increasing number of autistic people becoming directly involved in driving pivotal autism research, changes are afoot with the neurodiversity paradigm. Where, like what biodiversity does for a healthy natural environment, neurodiversity helps to create a healthy and sustainable neurocognitive environment.

When we start to appreciate that neurodiversity helps rather than hinders the human collective, we start to change the way we perceive and consider those differences. Rather than chunking hugely varied symptoms and behaviours, and therefore a massively diverse group of people, up into tiny boxes to help us navigate and understand the landscape of our human world, we might think…

Why aren’t we encouraging each other to do whatever is the opposite of pushing a whole person’s identity into a rigid and restricted box?

The doing words in the list of antonyms for ‘box’ is where it’s at, we should: unwrap; unpack; declassify; individuate; look at the whole; free up; mix it up and really expand the way we organise our think when it comes to ALL people.

A simple way to start to do this is to explore ourselves a little more closely, turn the spotlight toward our own paradigms, maybe understand a little better why we have made some of the boxes we have made for people in the first place.

The Greater Good Science Centre studies in detail the science of a meaningful life, and it explains that the keys to wellbeing for all of us are: Altruism; Awe; Bridging Differences; Compassion; Diversity; Empathy; Forgiveness; Gratitude; Happiness; Mindfulness; Purpose; and Social Connection. At some level, these key concepts are all ways for us to change the way we think and start to unpack the not-so-informed side of ourselves that may tend to judge, stereotype, and label other people and through doing this restricts our ability to understand and accept differences.

So, what happens to our brains when we open ourselves up to embracing difference of all kinds?

First, there will be a broad expansion of our ideas. In terms of neuroplasticity, the drive toward positive brain change will accelerate rapidly. It would be like being at a global university lecture in an auditorium of billions, minds would be buzzing, there would be limitless wonderful things to learn about each other. Each of those new idea neurons and new concept connections (synapses), between new and old neurons, would then give us ways of thinking differently about things we thought we knew, and allow us to see more easily fascinating things we may never have noticed before.

Instead of thinking in boxes of relatable sameness, we would expand our own ability to think diversely. This, in turn, increases our capacity for understanding, empathy and acceptance. It increases creativity and improves communication. When you change the way you think of one thing, and then many things, a tumultuous tonne of ‘think cells’ will change.

We would learn more about being human, we would better understand and accept more of the similarities, and not the differences, of our shared human experience. We might come to know that someone may try and calm themselves down by rocking, flapping their hands, or stomping their feet; but you are doing the exact same thing (just in a different way) when you chew gum, constantly click your pen when you’re thinking, or crack your knuckles.

We would appreciate the deep human longing for connection and feelings of belonging. We would have greater capacity for altruism, compassion, empathy, forgiveness, and social connection – these selfless tendencies that make the world a beautiful place would come easily to us. As author and speaker, Dr Daniel Wendler, explains it may even improve our friendships and the powerful skill we all have to make the simple decision to be a friend.

We would better accept the different and changeable nature of ourselves, and of those closest to us. When we stop judging others and are ourselves judged less for the differences in our individuality we are less fearful. Deep powerful survival and social structures in our brains no longer have to run on ‘high alert’ looking for threats. If we all ‘embrace difference’, we might all be a lot less stressed and less anxious.

Amazingly, embracing difference of all kinds, cannot just change our brains but our bodies too. There is research that suggests that inducing empathy may improve heart rate variability. Better heart rate variability directly relates to improved heart function and a healthier ability for your nervous system to manage stress. It can be really ‘good to be good’ – research suggests altruism and social connections can lead to a longer and healthier life.

So, when we embrace difference, we all may end up with a bigger brain and a better heart. Most importantly, for individuals who are Autistic, everyone ‘embracing difference’ may have a direct impact on improving: quality of life; social life; environmental design; education experiences; levels of employment; mental health and even life expectancy. We ALL benefit.

If you would like to find out more about how your unique brain functions and changes, with everything you think, feel and do each day, the Team at The Perth Brain Centre embrace you and your curiosity. You can watch, read, call or email, to find out more today.

About the author - Ms Emily Goss (Occupational Therapist, Senior Clinician, The Perth Brain Centre).