[diversity] Neuro-diversity in tech & hackers community

Hi,

at the recent conference SHA2017 there was a very interesting 
presentation about "Managing Neurodiversity with Cognitive Empathy" :

https://program.sha2017.org/events/324.html

You can see the video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2fD2BvS3Aqw

I enjoyed it very much, and I think it's relevant both for the RIPE 
community, and the organisations that employ nerds.

My wish is to invite these presenters to give this or similar talk at 
the RIPE meeting.

Below is the text, repeated, for the archives.

Cheers,
Vesna

===

lecture: Nerd-Wrangling 101

Managing Neurodiversity with Cognitive Empathy

Neurodiversity is the concept that neurological conditions are 
variations in the human genome. Therefore Autism, ADHD, and mood- and 
personality disorders are considered social categories intersecting with 
other social categories.

While "Nerd" is very broadly defined, the number of neurodiverse people 
within our social group is much higher than in the general population. 
Our social circles, our hackerspaces, our coworkers are assembled from 
this group. And due to these differences our groups behave differently 
and encounter different problems that cannot be solved with standard 
management 101.

Working together with a team of amazing people, nearly all of whom have 
distinctive cognitive needs, we found that classical management and 
strict structures are impediments rather than support. So we hacked 
around them. Like you do.

In this talk we introduce the concept of cognitive empathy: Being able 
to think into the brain of your peers even though you might lack 
affective ("classical") empathy. We will share how we came to new 
solutions in managing our team by figuring out each others' needs. This 
talk will be about superpowers and super weaknesses: how to manage them, 
utilize them, and create an interdependent band of superheroes for which 
the sum is greater than the parts.

~~~~

Neurodiversity is an approach to learning and disability that argues 
diverse neurological conditions are results of normal variations in the 
human genome.This portmanteau of neurological and diversity originated 
in the late 1990s as a challenge to prevailing views of neurological 
diversity as inherently pathological, instead asserting that 
neurological differences should be recognized and respected as a social 
category on a par with gender, ethnicity, sexual orientation, or 
disability status.

The term "Nerd" broadly describes very many of the quirks that come with 
neurodiversity. While not all nerds are neurologically diverse, many 
are. ADHD and Asperger's, as well as mood disorders such as depression, 
bipolar disorder, and anxiety, and personality disorders such as OCD are 
very common within the hacker scene.

This talks aims at everybody who either is themselves among the above 
mentioned groups or deals with neurodiverse people on a daily basis. We 
are coming from this perspective because we are managing a team that is 
neurologically diverse, but also because we are ourselves neurodiverse 
and have had very frustrating experiences in the past being managed by 
others who didn't understand our peculiarities or couldn't appropriately 
respond to them due to company policy.

After explaining the general concept the talk will take its time to dive 
into different diagnoses and pair explaining symptoms with real-world 
examples of how they can play out in a work setting. We will also 
explain why we consider some traits as superpowers in a very Marvel 
Comics-style sense ("The Hulk is very strong but he also smashes things 
to pieces"). On the other hand, we will go in-depth into what we call 
super-weaknesses and try to explain how to work around those or harness 
them for good.

Finally we will talk about some general ideas of how to address 
neurological diversity in a work-like environment. These respecting 
peoples' sensory, metabolic, biological and bio-cognitive needs. We look 
for Pareto improvements, meaning that solutions should benefit everyone 
without disadvantaging a minority. This is especially important as only 
benefiting a plurality can produce devastating effects on minority 
groups. We will therefore explain how to make "harm reduction" the 
highest priority.

All great ides, however, only work in an open environment where talking 
about such issues is accepted. Being unapologetically neurodiverse is a 
radical act. This talk will also explain why, and what the implications 
are when fostering a culture of vulnerability.