Let’s not hide it

Sandy Powell FCInstCES, IEng MInstRE, Learning and Development Technical Manager, Murphy Geospatial 

Sandy Powell talks openly about what makes him who he is

HAVE you ever sat waiting for a train or to meet a friend and found yourself observing those walking by, guessing their traits and wondering how they see the world around them?

Many of us notice what we consider to be normal characteristics that we expect to see in our everyday lives. But for me, what we don’t see is far more interesting.

What do I mean by ‘what we don’t see?’ Well, I’m talking about those hidden disabilities and conditions that are integral to some people’s lives yet not openly visible to others. These hidden aspects are key parts of their day-to-day existence.

Throughout much of my professional life, I have been able to mask these challenges.While I am no expert on hidden disabilities, I can speak from personal experience as someone with neurodiverse conditions. I’ve had to adapt and come to terms with how I engage with the world around me.

I want to explore some of the hidden disabilities or conditions that often receive negative press. Suppose you are willing to be open, engaging and inclusive. In that case, you may discover that many of the individuals with these disabilities possess gifts, abilities and skills far more valuable than you might ever consider and are often dismissed because of a label. Speaking from personal experiences here are a few things that I can speak about.

Dyslexia

My dyslexia affects my spelling and reading abilities. Throughout much of my professional life, I have been able to mask these challenges by linking keywords in a body of written text with my existing knowledge of the subject and making assumptions about what the text is conveying. Clearly, this doesn’t work in every case, and I have been caught out and left looking rather foolish, but why is this? In many cases, I have been left unprepared for the discussion due to a lack of consideration or planning.

There have been cases in my past where documents have been sent back to me with belittling comments such as ‘do you own a dictionary!’ and ‘my nine-year-old could have written better’. These comments were unacceptable even for that time, yet they were still used and actions such as this greatly affect the recipient. It is a struggle being dyslexic, writing things out in a format that others can comprehend.

Here are some examples of the writing process of a dyslexic individual that you might find useful when reading this article and the work of other neurodiverse individuals: 

• I must consider every word, phrase and sentence to ensure that it is understood by others, as the way I think and communicate isn’t always aligned with the thinking of the wider audience. 
• It takes me more time and physical and mental effort to write what I think or have been asked to produce. A five-minute task can take over an hour for me.
• Not only do I have to write things, but I must read it two or three times over to check it will make sense to others before I can share it.

To help with some of these challenges, I am very lucky to have some truly trusted friends who will take the time to read my work and provide constructive feedback and advice without judgment.

By their very nature, these methods create barriers to effective communication and pose challenges for many, not just dyslexic individuals.

For this article for instance, I must thank Tehya Bruce-Allen and Bernice Cowton for their support and time.

However, this is not always the case for me and others. We must hope that the emails, presentations and work we produce meet or exceed the required standard. Additionally, we rely on our readers’ understanding that everyone has different skill sets and writing isn’t my strongest suit.

Good habits

In professional circles communication is generally through email or a Teams/ Zoom meeting. By their very nature, these methods create barriers to effective communication and pose challenges for many, not just dyslexic individuals. Things to be mindful of are:

Emails 

• Receiving too many emails can lead to information overload, causing important messages to be overlooked or ignored.
• Long emails can be overwhelming and may not be read thoroughly, leading to missed information or details.
• Using complex language, jargon or technical terms can alienate recipients who may not be familiar with these terms. 
• Vague or ambiguous language can lead to misunderstandings and misinterpretations of the message.
• Emails do not allow for real-time interaction, making it difficult to ask for clarification or provide immediate feedback.

Teams/Zoom

• Poor audio or video quality can make it difficult to hear or see participants clearly, leading to misunderstandings.
• Background noise and visual distractions can interrupt the flow of communication and reduce focus.
• Delays in audio or video transmission can cause participants to talk over each other or miss parts of the conversation. 
• Prolonged use of video conferencing can lead to screen fatigue, reducing participants’ engagement and attention. 
• Participants may be tempted to multi-task during meetings, leading to divided attention and less effective communication.
• Some participants may dominate the conversation while others may feel less inclined to contribute, leading to unequal participation.

Now don’t get me wrong, I recognise the huge advantages to these formats of communication, and I use them as much as the next person, but what I would like you to take away is to consider is how some of the points above can affect the people you communicate with, not just those who are dyslexic or neurodiverse. Some considerations that can help email communication be more inclusive:

• Avoid jargon, complex words, and long sentences. Use plain language and keep sentences short and to the point.
• Break content into small, manageable sections with clear headings and subheadings. Use bullet points or numbered lists for easy scanning.
• Use sans-serif fonts like Arial, Verdana or Tahoma, which are easier to read. Some dyslexia-friendly fonts like OpenDyslexic can be particularly helpful. 
• Include a brief summary or critical points at the beginning or end of the email to give an overview of the content.
• Write concise and descriptive subject lines to give recipients a clear idea of the email’s content.
• Use readability tools to ensure the email content is accessible.

Some considerations for Teams/Zoom:

• Speak clearly and use straightforward language. Avoid jargon, complex words, and long sentences.
• Share a clear agenda before the meeting and provide summaries or key points during and after the call to help with understanding and retention.
• Use the live captioning feature available in Teams and Zoom to provide real-time text of spoken words. 
• Record meetings so participants can review the content later at their own pace.
• Use screen sharing to display visual aids like slides, diagrams, or documents to support verbal communication.
• Send written summaries or minutes after the meeting, highlighting key decisions and action items. 
• Be patient and offer support to dyslexic participants, recognising that they may need additional time or assistance to engage in the meeting fully.

Not only will some of these practices help those with dyslexia and other neurodiverse conditions, but they will also help the vast majority of those we communicate with.

Making communications clear and inclusive is a logical step in helping and supporting everyone to achieve their goals and objectives.

Brain injury-related conditions

Brain injuries can be acquired in many ways, such as through an accident, sports injury, stroke, tumour and many more. How they affect individuals is as varied as the stars in the sky. It always puzzles me the way people react to my limp. I guess they expect me to say something like, ‘I tripped over a step’ or ‘I hurt it playing football’.

But when I explain that it is due to my brain damage, there is a noticeable silence or an immediate ‘I’m sorry’ type response. Why should they be sorry for an accident I had that they had nothing to do with or for asking a question and getting a truthful and factual answer?

This makes them invaluable team members and assets to groups and organisations striving to push the boundaries of technology and development.The effects of my accident are what they are. Yes, I could try to hide the cause, but that wouldn’t be true to who I am. More importantly, it would be avoiding the social issue of accepting individuals for who they are. I am who I am, and changing to fit an accepted ‘normal’ isn’t what I wish to do. Instead, I prefer to be open. By sharing my experience, I encourage others to become less phased by these conversations.

Even better, it opens up dialogue, invites questions, helps others understand my condition and realise it should not affect how they interact with me.

I consider myself lucky compared to those who have experienced significant changes to their characters and physical abilities due to a brain injury. Their road to recovery has and can be long and seemingly endless. I have the privilege to know some incredible individuals who have faced the profound effects of a brain injury.

What unites them is their unwavering drive to succeed and overcome the challenges they encounter. For many, there was and is no quick fix, but their strength of character shines through as they face each day with a smile and give their all to everything they do. This remarkable resilience, some might say ‘superpower’, should never be underestimated.

Despite physical or mental limitations, their strength of character enables them to look past these constraints, find alternative solutions and think outside of the conventional norms. This makes them invaluable team members and assets to groups and organisations striving to push the boundaries of technology and development.

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)

For much of my life, ASD was never something that I thought much about. To be honest, it was almost hidden from society and many kids during my childhood who had ASD were not supported in school and were considered the ‘awkward kid’. Little did I know, I was the ‘awkward kid’ too. I sit at one end of the Autism Spectrum and have been able to mask my ASD to be accepted. This doesn’t mean that I have been able to fit into all environments because I haven’t.

Autistic individuals often communicate in a straightforward and honest manner without the social nuances that neurotypical people might use. It wasn’t until much later in life that I was identified as having ASD and to be honest, it was a game changer. For years, I had struggled to understand why I didn’t really fit in and why I was more comfortable not fitting in despite the social pressure to confirm. Now I have an answer, but with that answer came more questions, challenges, and acceptances, both personal and social.

Some of the characteristics of ASD include a focus on details rather than the big picture. This can lead to exceptional skills in areas that require precision, such as mathematics, surveying, art and music. Many autistic people excel in logical reasoning and analytical thinking. They may approach problems methodically and enjoy tasks that involve patterns, sequences and systems.

Autistic individuals often communicate in a straightforward and honest manner without the social nuances that neurotypical people might use. This directness can be refreshing but might sometimes be perceived as blunt. These are just a few of the areas in which ASD can affect individuals.

How it affects everyone is different, for me some of the key areas of my Autism are: 

• I struggle with understanding and responding to social cues, such as body language, facial expressions, and tone of voice. 
• I often have challenges with understanding idioms, sarcasm, and indirect language despite being sarcastic myself. 
• I have a heightened sensitivity to sensory stimuli such as sounds and movement, which can make being in busy offices or crowded places just too much.
• I am very much attached to routines and predictability, with changes or disruptions causing significant stress and anxiety.
• I have difficulty understanding, expressing, and managing emotions, which can result in emotional outbursts or mental shutdown.
• I struggle to recognise and respond to the emotions of others, which leads to difficulties in social interactions. 
• I think in binary, right or wrong, black or white. The grey or subjective doesn’t make sense to me and causes challenges with understanding or accepting what others are saying or doing.
• I say it as I see it, which can offend, but this isn’t my intention, but others struggle with my blunt and direct nature.

This list is by no means conclusive. I could write a lot more about how my autism affects me, but the important thing to note is that it does and that it affects me every single day.

How do I manage my ASD? For me, it’s about using coping strategies that I have developed over time. The biggest of these is ‘masking’, which involves trying to hide my ASD to fit in socially. Masking is a subconscious practice that activates as soon as I’m away from the safety of my immediate family and home. My brain takes control, constantly accessing my situation and environment and making informed choices for me.

This means my brain works at close to maximum capacity whenever I’m out of my safe areas. This means that for an 8 to 10-hour work day, I can be mentally exhausted most of the time and it is not surprising that my mask fails and my ASD becomes more apparent. Should I need to mask? The answer is both yes and no. What do I mean by this? Yes, I need to mask as it enables me to engage with others better and prevents friction and clashes. No, I shouldn’t have to, as others should accept me for who I am and adapt to include me.

Let’s be pragmatic: I mask to fit in (yes, that’s not ideal), but I also do it to help those around me feel comfortable in their environment.Let’s be pragmatic: I mask to fit in (yes, that’s not ideal), but I also do it to help those around me feel comfortable in their environment. My masking is my reasonable adjustment to help others engage with me, so we can collectively work and live in harmony (which is good).

This said, I am not able to mask in every environment and people will have to accept me for who I am without it. I can help with this by explaining that I have ASD, sharing some of the key characteristics and answering any questions they have. It’s important that we all take time for self-directed learning into conditions like ASD and ADHD to understand how our actions can support an inclusive and supportive environment.

Are individuals with ASD fully accepted in society? From my experience, the answer is a firm no. The following experiences illustrate that we still have a long way to go before we become fully inclusive. I have had it where so-called friends have openly told me that they don’t want to be seen socially with me because of the way I am.

Others have quietly removed me from their friends list on social media platforms to avoid being linked to me. I’ve been told I should keep my ASD hidden, as there’s no need for others to know about it. Managers have asked me to just sit and observe in group activities, knowing that for me to understand and participate fully, I would be a distraction.

There was an incident where I was told to change how I communicate. When I explained that this wasn’t a voluntary choice, I was effectively told that it didn’t matter. I then asked, ‘would you ask a person in a wheelchair to walk up the stairs?’ only to be told that was different and not the same. That said, this is not always the case, and I have been afforded support, encouragement and engagement with my ASD.

For examples, in a bustling train station with lots of pushing, shoving and noise, I was about to lose it catastrophically and told the person I was with that I was at a breaking point. At that moment, two nurses behind me overheard and asked what was wrong. The moment I said I had autism, they took control, started talking to people and moving them away to create a safe space around me.

They helped me get onto my train and to the next station of my journey, where things were quieter and more manageable for me. To this day, I have never had the chance to truly thank them, but I am deeply grateful for their help.

I have worked in office environments that have been uncomfortable for me, but by talking with others in the office, adjustments were made to make my environment more comfortable. I have had managers ask me to help in difficult situations that have been emotionally challenging for them to deal with because they knew that my black-and-white, nonemotional approach would be able to keep things calm, professional and controlled.

By talking with others in the office, adjustments were made to make my environment more comfortable.

My autism is a big part of who I am and have always been, even if I didn’t know it. I have embraced it and continue to learn about it for myself, but I also think it is important that others educate themselves.

Being open and honest about my ASD works for the most part; it allows me to engage with the world better and helps others to engage with me better. It starts conversations about ASD, how it affects me, and how others can support me.

However, I have been told that it has and can make others feel uncomfortable. But to be honest, that isn’t my worry. As individuals, I would encourage people to look at themselves and ask why they are uncomfortable when someone is different to them because, at the end of the day, we are all different.

Having ASD isn’t about the label, but about the differences I can bring to my social environment, whether that be my family, friends, colleagues or society.

Mental health

When mental health comes, it hits you like a train and knocks you down with no regard for who you think you are or what you have been through. I have friends and former colleagues who continues to face challenges with their mental health. They have had the strength to talk about their struggles and how their perceptions of mental health and actions outside of their control have amplified the impact upon them. By being able to talk about these hidden challenges more can be understood and done to help those dealing with mental health concerns.

Society

The topics I have discussed in this article are prevalent across society and will not disappear magically. It is important that we all take time to learn from each other, embrace our differences and support the benefits they bring, even if those differences are not immediately visible.

Many of the world’s greatest minds have hidden disabilities. Regardless of the ‘label’ associated with them, they have brought value to the world in scientific, academic, entertainment and political arenas. It is this segment of society that has achieved the extraordinary throughout history and provide us with the forward thinkers of the future. With a better understanding of society, it is now time for us all to fully embrace equity, inclusion and diversity and make the most of the skills, talents and dis(abilities) around us. 

Sandy Powell FCInstCES, IEng MInstRE, Learning and Development Technical Manager, Murphy Geospatial

CICES Deputy Chief Examiner (Geospatial) and CICES Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Council member.