What has religion got to do with neurodiversity?
More than you might think.
...because the environments that teach us we are allowed to ask questions, are often the same environments that teach us we are allowed to think differently.
This week I saw a post from the reverend of the church I grew up attending. He wrote that during Lent he read the Quran. I loved that, because it captured something familiar. I grew up learning about different faiths, with a deep respect for science, in spaces where curiosity was welcomed. I attended a church and a mosque. I asked questions everywhere. And those questions were met with interest, not suspicion.
That kind of environment teaches you something early. You are allowed to think. You are allowed to ask. You are allowed to be different.
Many people grow up learning the opposite. Conform. Do not ask. Do not be awkward. Do not be “too much”. Those lessons do not disappear. They show up at work.
If you build a workplace around an imaginary “standard person”, then everyone who thinks differently spends energy translating, masking, and compensating. That cost shows up in performance, stress, misunderstandings, and attrition.
This is why ASM exists.
We work with individuals and employers because the individual and the environment shape each other. One to one coaching and mentoring can be transformative, but it lands best when organisations also build conditions that make good work easier: clearer expectations, better manager practice, and team ways of working that reduce unnecessary friction.
I keep coming back to a simple principle: People do not need to be fixed to fit work. Work can be designed to fit real human brains, without lowering standards.
If this resonates, feel free to connect with me.