Member Spotlight: Reflections on Neurodiversity Inclusion with Andrew Hastings
LGBT Great are delighted to be partnering with member firm abrdn in this special blog to celebrate neurodiversity visibility and inclusion. We invited Andrew Hastings (he/him), a Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DE&I) Consultant at abrdn to share a little about his story and recent experience of being diagnosed with ADHD.
Andrew was recently diagnosed with ADHD having begun his diagnosis journey over 18 months ago. Prior to his role in DEI in June 2021, which was his first human resources-focused position, Andrew spent four and half years working within abrdn’s group technology team.
Having first studied Biochemistry at the University of York, then the move from tech-team at a financial services company to DEI consultant hasn’t been what you might consider a ‘normal’ career path, but each of these moves gave him the chance to explore different aspects of his life and interests and eventually pursue diagnosis of his neurodivergence.
In 2022, abrdn ran awareness sessions open to all colleagues in partnership with Auticon (a social enterprise that employs autistic adults as technology consultants), the conversations during these sessions led to abrdn setting up a global neurodiversity community. The community provides peer support for colleagues who are neurodivergent, parents or family of those who are neurodivergent, or any colleagues who want to understand how to create an environment that is more inclusive for neurodivergent individuals.
It was through attending this community that Andrew heard more from his own colleagues’ lived experiences and was further inspired to pursue his own diagnosis and exploring support available. Following his own diagnosis and journey Andrew shared his blog and story within abrdn for all colleagues to learn while encouraging others to join the neurodiversity community.
He is keen to share his story with a wider audience and offer an insight into his journey, insight into how his neurodivergence impacts him in his work and his life, and to encourage more people across all communities and walks of life to share intersectional and inclusive discussions around neurodiversity. His blog can be read below in the hopes of inspiring transparent and inclusive conversations.
Taken at Salvesen Mindroom’s ‘It Takes All Kinds Of Minds’ Conference March 2023
It’s like being in a cinema, and I can finally focus on the movie.
It was like I was sitting in the cinema wanting to watch a movie, but everyone there just kept talking… And now… they’re actually quiet and I can just watch the movie.
This is how it felt when I was at work, when I was with friends or family, or even on my own when I was trying to get things done (even things I liked) …
It’s been 18 months since I first called the GP to discuss ADHD. After hearing, “You are showing traits of ADHD, and I want to offer you a trial of medication to help” from my psychiatrist just 2 months ago, the sigh of relief I gave when things finally clicked into place would probably have been heard across most our offices!
I have always struggled with “just get it done” (be that work, life, flat, friends, or more), some form of invisible debate with myself just to start a task, even with activities which I enjoy doing. My Conscious mind would plan the task, know how to start, and would be excited to do so… And then just not start.
It was only when I moved into a role with less regular external deadlines did this really start impacting my work life day-to-day. I love my role within Diversity, Equity and Inclusion – many of the initiatives, events, and projects I get to work on can really move the dial for inclusion: be that our Gender, Ethnicity, and Social action plans for abrdn; working with external partners to run training sessions or share best practice; all the way to our colleague-led diversity networks such as Lighthouse for LGBTQ+ colleagues and allies. However even with work I loved the invisible debate continued.
A burst of motivation in February 2022 and I called my GP to discuss this… into March that year and I was focused on Journaling (unsurprising to no-one this didn’t last!) and putting various adjustments in place at work. It wasn’t until March 2023 and a year of semi-successful adjustment that I pursued diagnosis again… this time through our fantastic healthcare provider in hopes of diagnosis and whatever extra support this would come with (ongoing support, resources, medication, etc.) 13th August 2023 (544 days later) and I had my diagnosis.
Neurodivergence
For me, my ADHD traits don’t impact me in the same way every day. It’s important to think that neurodevelopmental conditions don’t exist in a vacuum – we are all impacted by the people, work, and society around us.
So how did this look for me?
Executive dysfunction (I like this task, know how to do it, and ready to start… but still won’t do it)
Hyperfocus (uncontrolled singular interest in a topic/project/idea and nothing else for anything from 1 hour to 1 month)
Jumping between tasks (having 5 things on the go at literally the same time, jumping between with no rhyme, rhythm, or control)
Procrastination (yes, everyone has this! For me unless the deadline was within 4 hours (regardless of workload) then I wasn’t interested)
Sound familiar? As I say neurodivergence is a spectrum, but for me enough was enough. Even with the most supportive manager and team I could ask for; it wasn’t enough for me to feel comfortable in myself.
Post diagnosis and now on medication…?
It was like I was sitting in the cinema wanting to watch a movie, but everyone there just kept talking… And now… They’re actually quiet and I can just watch the movie.
The challenges I faced are still there, but the focus and control I have over myself is quite literally life changing (just 2 months into the medication).
Why have I shared this?
My journey is not unique, it is estimated in the UK that around 1 in 7 people (more than 15%) are neurodivergent.
I consider my neurodivergence a strength in a lot of ways, but it is not without its challenges and my hope is that this blog has helped give some insight into these experiences.
I could talk at length about the benefits of neurodivergent teams at work (I have a presentation!), about how supportive line managers can literally change lives, how good healthcare helps people be themselves, and how inclusive culture lets people really embrace who they are.
But I will instead finish this with a thank you for reading my journey; and hope that this glimpse into my own mind has been useful to understand just one facet of neurodivergence!
If you want to learn more, or get any links to the organisations I have mentioned here feel free to reach out to me on:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrew-d-hastings/
LGBT Great Commented :
“I want to express the LGBT Great team's sincere gratitude to Andrew for sharing his story so authentically and openly. It was a powerful learning experience for me, and I'm sure for many others as well. Neurodiversity remains an essential – and oft overlooked aspect of inclusion. Our hope is by spotlighting Andrew’s story, we will engender greater comfort around asking questions about neurodiversity and will spur readers on to learning more about neurodiversity more generally.”