Zoilo “Bingo” P. Dejaresco III l November 21, 2023 l Manila Bulletin
A HARVARD STUDY BY Robert Austin and Gary Pisano cites a growing understanding of the new types of people we call “neurodivergent” which is within the spectrum of Autism.
According to the Center for Disease Control and Treatment, 1 out of 42 males and 1 of 189 females in America are considered autistic. There are many variants citing dyspraxia (no coordination between brain direction and muscle movement), dyslexia (impediment in speech pattern and spelling), AHDC (lack of attention- a deficiency), and social anxiety disorders, among others.
Many of them lack the social skills or the “soft” skills. However, according to columnist Gay Santos, many of them have average to above-average IQs. They have special skills in pattern recognition, memory, and mathematics, according to the Harvard study.
Many of the neurodivergent have master’s degrees and even dual degrees with diverse specializations in anthropology to engineering physics and computer science. However, because interviewing patterns in job acceptance and promotion are almost uniform worldwide, many of them do not go past the interview stage and languish in their work positions for a long time.
“Neurodiverse people’s behavior runs counter to notions of a good employee- solid communication skills, being a team player, emotional intelligence, performance-salesman type, conform to standards and ability to network”. Most big companies look in the same direction and, therefore, miss to get “neurodivergent” talent. It is because most of them ” do not make good eye contact, are prone to conversational tangents”, and often, too brutally frank about their weaknesses. Thus, many fail the traditional grade.
Fortunately, these cases of traditionally called “oddballs” and “nerds” have been given special attention by a Denmark- company that specializes in tailor-fitting programs for companies in 23 countries to help firms there in order to give a different assessment of these neurodivergent. After all, all of us are born different and raised differently. The company is called Specialisterne and has been getting favorable reactions from huge corporations like Johnson and Johnson, IBM, Nestle, Hewlett Packard, and J.P. Morgan, among others. There is hope. (Specialisterne CEO Diana Mirakaj-Finnerly was at Finex’s November General Membership Meeting at Dusit Hotel).
Because these “differently abled” while lacking in social skills have a high aptitude for math, pattern recognition and attention to detail, they are in demand, for instance, in the Australian Defense Department- developing neurodiversity in the field of “cybersecurity”. In Europe- 800,000 jobs for workers adept at data analytics and IT service implementation are almost always available. It is not a surprise, likewise, that many of the Silicon Valley employees- belong to the neurodivergent group.
Some private firms in the Philippines are now slowly adopting new methods in their entry-level interviewing and assessing employees for promotion with this new concept in mind. Hopefully, this traction will also lead to LGUs adopting the same. After all, not only interviews are the only way to assess an employee’s suitability. The neurodivergent do not need to be cured- they only need to be helped and accommodated for their special needs to bring out their full potential.
Evidently, LGUs and private firms need “to adjust their recruitment, selection and career development policies” if they want to bring in new “perspectives in the company efforts to recognize value.” The same problems and opportunities are given a chance to be seen from differently-abled eyes, so to speak.
Actually, the neurodivergent are in good company. The 2021 richest human on earth and Time’s “Man of the Year” Elon Musk- who is into space travel, electric cars, solar power, and others- is an admitted autistic fellow. He suffers from Asperger’s and has difficulty relating socially to other people. He has had 3 divorces, one separation, and 9 different children from several women.
Bullied in his youth, Elon retreated and concentrated on his entrepreneurial skills- and despite many failures- became the world’s richest at one time. Neurodivergent sometimes have separate realities from the so-called “neuro-normals”.
Bill Gates, one of the world’s richest, also has the same Musk ailment- inability to pick up social cues and speech and behavior aberration. But he is also chair of the respected Microsoft corporation and runs one of the biggest philanthropic foundations in the world called Melinda and Bill Gates Foundation.
Football great Messi has special aloofness in him but developed his extraordinary athletic abilities making him one of the world’s highest-paid sportsmen. Jerry Seinfeld, in the real world, draws many fights because of his frankness and lack of empathy for other’s feelings- yet he is the Comedy King of Hollywood. He is autistic.
And let us go way back into history to the great scientist Albert Einstein who developed ground-breaking principles in science. He was so fixated on things and studies (not academics but his discoveries) that he was regarded as eccentric in his ways (in the eyes of the common man) and with “people problem”. While the average IQ of humans is 100, Einstein is reported to have an IQ of 160-190.
So next time you discard that oddly dressed nerd in the corner- nervously tying his shoelaces or biting his finger while the whole world rotates in frenzied motion- do not count him out. He could be our next Albert Einstein or the world’s richest gazillionaire.
The Age of the Neurodivergent has arrived. It’s about time.
*** (Bingo Dejaresco, a former banker, is a financial consultant, media practitioner, and author. He is a Life and Media member of Finex. His views here, however, are personal and do not necessarily reflect those of Finex. Dejarescobingo@yahoo.com).