The link between Gender Diversity and other forms of Neurodiversity

One of my favorite sayings as a therapist is, “variety is the spice of life.” Truly, getting to interact with so many kinds of people and to get to observe their particular, interesting ways of thinking is one of the great joys of my job. It is always fascinating for me to see how folks process things in so many different ways. No two brains are alike, and everyone is wired differently. Fortunately, as a couples and family therapist, I am in a position where I have the privilege of observing these differences frequently, and I am a believer that this is what makes each individual special and unique.

As someone who is gender diverse, I have been particularly fascinated by the fact that there is a known, established correlation between being gender diverse and having Autism. While I am not Autisitic (I am Allistic, to be exact, which is the term for someone who is not Autistic), I am interested that this is one of the many ways that gender diversity corresponds to other forms of diversity, which enhances our world. The specific statistical link is as follows: the link is about a 3-6x times likelihood. In other words, if one is gender diverse, they are 3-6x times more likely to be Autistic. You can read more about that study here.

There is also some information that gender diverse people are not just more likely to have Autism, but they are more likely to have other forms of Neurodivergency, such as ADHD. This is also a 6x more likelihood; someone with ADHD is 6x more likely to be gender diverse. A 2017 study conducted on 20 gender diverse people found that ADHD was the leading comorbidity at 75%. You can read more about that study here.

How does this relate to couples and family therapy? A belief I bring to the therapy space is this: it fills me with pride to know that the community of which I am a part of is special in many ways, and our differing way of thinking is one of those things. Diverse thinking contributes to, and can heal the world. As gender diverse people, we are sometimes told that we are less than, or not equal. However, when we view neurodivergency from a strengths-based perspective, it helps us to ascertain that we are enough, and we certainly have a lot to be proud of.