Dirty Alchemy

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Supporting Neurodiversity: What it is & how to work with it featuring Robin Langford

Sam Garcia

I’m so excited to welcome our guest on this week’s podcast!

You might remember Robin Langford of Wicked Veracity from ep. 89: The 2022 Astrological Forecast. She’s an astrologer, stoic witch, philosopher, teacher, and life coach. She helps you navigate the crossroads of fate and free will so that you experience life on your own terms.

She’s also the head coach of the Alchemical Business Accelerator and the beloved implementation dominatrix within that program. She’s a wonderful part of the Dirty Alchemy team.

Today, we’re talking all about neurodiversity and your business!

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Neurodiversity is a term that’s been popping up a lot more lately, so let’s dive into what it means, how you can know if you or your clients are neurodiverse, and how you can use this knowledge as a tool to make running your business even more enjoyable and easy!

What is neurodiversity? (3:55)

Neurodiversity is a term in activism that is used to describe the idea that people experience and interact with the world around them in many different ways, and that there is no one right way of thinking, learning and behaving. It also posits that differences are not the same thing as deficits – aka, you can be different without being bad or wrong.

Neurodiversity applies to a wide range of things, including autism, ADHD, learning disabilities, and sensory processing differences or sensory processing disorders. And it’s all a spectrum. It’s not as simple as going to the doctor and getting a diagnosis. Sometimes, the best you can do is go through a checklist and see if you fall under one of these categories.

Robin is teaching us all about neurodiversity to help you better relate to your business and your clients.

How can people know if they might be neurodiverse? (24:30)

Robin walks us through several diagnoses in depth, but here are some of the key takeaways:

ADHD in women can look like having trouble paying bills on time, even when you have enough money; missing appointments; finding that you have a lot of energy and focus for some projects and zero energy for others. And autism and ADHD often appear together.

For sensory processing disorders, you might get easily overwhelmed or you might find that you don’t notice things as much as other people seem to. Overthinking and overanalyzing social situations is also common. Or having an aversion to loud sounds or bright lights, or even the scratching of your shirt tag against your back! All of these fall under sensory processing.

How to create accommodations for yourself as a neurodiverse business owner. (47:13)

Being neurodiverse can make your brain store trauma more easily, so it’s good to have tools to process through that, like a weighted blanket. You might also consider what your work space looks like: are there piles of things that are distracting? Do bright lights bother you during the day, so you work mostly in the dark? Do you need a special keyboard, headphones, or other equipment to make work easier?

There’s a long list of tools and techniques for accommodations that Robin shares in this episode.

The best ways to support clients who are neurodiverse. (51:20)

One of the best things you can do to support all your clients is to ask, “Do you need any accommodations to work with me?” This is how you become more inclusive.

Robin is priming you for what some of the most common accommodations look like, so you’ll know going into calls with neurodiverse clients what to expect!

Resources:

Where to find Robin:

Let’s stay in touch!