Characteristics of Neurodiversity

Neurodiverse individuals may excel in some areas of academic or public life such as public speaking, running a business, art, maths, music, drama, design or sports, while being deficient in other areas. They may show some of these characteristics listed below:

• Has a high IQ, yet does not score high on school tests.
  
  
• Feels dumb or stupid; has poor self-esteem; is anxious or withdrawn; hides or covers up weaknesses with coping mechanisms.
  
  
• Is easily frustrated and emotional about school, reading or testing.
  
  
• Seems to "check out" or daydreams often; gets lost easily or loses track of time.
  
  
• May be shy or withdrawn or socially awkward.
  
  
• Can be stubborn or opinionated.
  
  
• Complains of dizziness, nausea, headaches or stomach aches while reading or studying.
  
  
• Reads or writes with additions, omissions, substitutions, repetition, reversals or transpositions of letters, numbers or words.
  
  
• Complains of feeling or seeing non-existent movement while reading, writing or counting.
  
  
• Has difficulty putting thoughts into words; speaks in halting phrases; leaves sentences incomplete; stutters under stress.
  
  
• Mispronounces long words; transposes phrases, words and syllables when speaking.
  
  
• Is clumsy, uncoordinated or poor at ball or team sports; has difficulty with motor skills and tasks, suffers from motion sickness.
  
  
• Often confuses left/right and over/under.
  
  
• Has difficulty telling time, being on time, learning sequences of information or tasks, or setting priorities.
  
  
• Can do arithmetic, but fails word problems; cannot grasp algebra or higher maths.
  
  
• Uses sophisticated avoidance strategies; gets other people to do things for them, such as filling in forms, reading documents for them, etc.
  
  
• Has difficulty in learning new ways of doing old tasks.