Freshman year at Wasatch High School was turmoil for now-junior Rachael Griffin as she drowned in tests and assignments, all the while beating herself up about it. “I just felt like I was stupid. I knew this stuff. I couldn’t get it down in time. I couldn’t express myself the right way. A lot of my homework and stuff wasn’t completed all the way because I was rushed on time,” she recalled. “As soon as I found out that I was neurodivergent, I felt so much better about myself and it helped my self-esteem a lot.” Neurodiversity describes those whose brains function differently from what is considered typical by society’s norms. It includes a range of neurological differences, including autism, ADHD and dyslexia, three diagnoses Rachael received later in high school.  After receiving her diagnosis, she was able to develop a 504 plan to accommodate her disabilities with the school district. Even with Advanced Placement tests coming up, Rachael isn’t too stressed: she’ll be given extra time and breaks and access to plenty of fidget toys during the testing period. Rachael noted that she’s “an odd case” in that she is “comfortable with (her) disabilities.” Helping other students develop self-confidence is part of why Rachael serves as president of the high school’s neurodivergent club, Neuro Nest. School district speech pathologist Liz Griffin — who is not related to Rachael — founded Neuro Nest at the beginning of the school year. Neurodiversity matters to Liz not only because of her line of work, but also because she has ADHD and a family history of autism. The club will be available to students at both high schools when Deer Creek High School opens in August. Participants do not have to be diagnosed with a condition under the neurodiversity umbrella to participate. “We will accept you no matter what. Knowing that you’re different is a big step toward getting diagnosed and changing how you think about yourself,” Rachael said. Credit: Cannon Taylor/Park Record Credit: Cannon Taylor/Park Record Left: Dinosaurs at Neuro Nest’s autism acceptance booth. Right: James, the plastic shark, uses nonverbal communication cards. Neuro Nest offers monthly meetups like game and movie nights, bowling and karaoke, with these social activities sometimes serving as sensory-friendly alternatives to school dances.  “People need a space where they can be who they are, and there’s no pressure to conform,” Liz said. “There’s no pressure, like, ‘You need to keep a conversation going. You need to make comments about what they said.’”  Hiding one’s neurodivergent traits is often referred to as masking. Neuro Nest allows students the opportunity to unmask around peers who process the world similarly to the way they do. For Rachael, unmasking includes stimming. Stimming, or self-stimulatory behavior, refers to repetitive movements, sounds or behaviors. Many people stim, but it is especially common and frequent for neurodivergent people, who do it to regulate emotions, relieve anxiety or deal with sensory overload. “Yes, it will make kids look at you differently, but who cares, because they’re looking at you differently anyway,” Rachael said. The club’s alumna advisor, Malone Glick, who is autistic, chimed in, “They’re either going to look at you as if you’re insane or autistic.” Then, Liz’s 17-year-old son, Braswell, joked, “I keep telling my therapist that I’m insane, but they just keep chalking it up to autism.” For Rachael, being able to poke fun at one’s disability with a group of peers who are in on the joke is part of the appeal of Neuro Nest. Glick, who graduated last May, said Neuro Nest would have been a game changer had it been available to her throughout high school. “Being neurodivergent leaves you with a bit of a disconnect between other people. It’s not that you don’t want to hang out and meet other people. You really do, but it’s really hard to,” she said.  Gidget the dinosaur appears at Neuro Nest’s autism acceptance booth. Credit: Cannon Taylor/Park Record Glick described high school as the worst period of her life. She said it was hard to get her peers to accommodate her needs. If she asked someone to speak clearly and literally, they would add an implied meaning or sarcasm, which can be difficult for an autistic person to pick up on. And if she asked someone to stop making a noise that bothered her, they would make the noise even louder. Glick wished that people were more accommodating and that they understood just how challenging it can be to be autistic or elsewhere under the neurodivergent umbrella. “Just doing everyday life takes everything out of us. You get home from a normal day. You don’t have the energy to do anything you want to do. You can’t get a full-time job even if you wanted to,” she said. “It’s impossible, and you spend all your time completely drained because you spent all day trying to mask … because if you don’t, people don’t see you as a person.” Another thing Glick wishes people understood about autism is that physical conditions like digestive issues, chronic pain and Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome (POTS) are more common in autistic people. “People will say autism is just in the brain, but the brain controls your entire body, your nervous system, your digestive system. Everything is shot,” she said.  One reason for misunderstandings about autism is the lack of accurate representation in fiction, Glick added. That’s part of why she writes fantasy stories: to put a part of herself into each of her characters. “People are aware stuff like autism exists. They don’t know what it actually is,” Glick said. Freshman Naomi Adams chimed in with a misconception about autism that irks her: that acetaminophen causes autism in children. President Donald Trump and Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. popularized the theory last year, though there is no substantive evidence supporting it. “All I really care about is being treated well and having accessibility. And stop with the Tylenol thing,” Adams said. Adams isn’t much of a club person, but she likes Neuro Nest because it’s so easy to bond over shared experiences. Liz said that this can be best seen in Adams and Glick’s similar personalities. “She’s like a younger Malone who has been given more support than Malone had when she was here,” Liz said.  Glick smiled, “It makes me happy to see.” The post Neuro Nest provides students at Wasatch High School a space to unmask appeared first on Park Record. ...read more read less