In my book The Power of Neurodiversity:  Unleashing the Advantages of Your Differently Wired Brain, I explore the idea of niche construction as a way of thinking about neurodiversity.  When I suggest that neurodiverse individuals, such as those with autism or ADHD, might have been labeled gifted in other times and in other cultures, the quick...Read More

I was a special education teacher for several years, and during my time teaching, I became aware that not enough emphasis was being placed on the strengths of children who had been sent to my special classes.  This made me resolve to do some research, and I had the opportunity to do this when I did...Read More

 Over the past sixty years, we’ve witnessed a phenomenal growth in the number of new psychiatric illnesses.  The American Psychiatric Association’s Diagnostic and Statistical Manual, first published in 1952, originally listed about 100 categories of illness.  By the year 2000, that number had tripled.  We’ve become accustomed to hearing in the news about “learning disabilities,”...Read More

What do Richard Branson, Charles Schwab, and John Chambers, CEO of Cisco Systems Inc., all have in common?  Answer:  they’re all dyslexic.  They represent three famous examples of what is becoming increasingly more common in the business world: the presence of entrepreneurs who also happen to be dyslexic.  Research carried out  by Julie Logan, a professor of entrepreneurship at...Read More