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Neuro connectors

Writer's picture: pedrorodriguespedrorodrigues

Eighty-six billion neurons. That is the amount of neurons calculated for an adult person. That is a lot of neurons and a lot of connections. Without them all that amount of neurons would be useless, because they would not be able to communicate with each other and participate in everything that each one of us does in our daily lives.


Neurons are still fundamental, but these connections are vital. Just like people, they are also fundamental individually, but the way in which they connect and communicate with each other is vital. Otherwise, we will have people who are fantastic on an individual level, but who cannot achieve a whole range of goals because this connection does not happen or happens in an inadequate way.


And just like in the image that accompanies this text showing some neurons and their ramifications that interconnect between them providing a sample of the complexity that is stored in our brain when we think that we have 86 billion neurons. Also the relationship between people in society is equally diverse and complex.


But I do not come here to tell you about neural networks and the development of artificial networks in the laboratory to show how people think, feel and behave. But we can take advantage of the knowledge derived from these methodologies that show how all this complexity that occurs in the brain can be translated into a more simplified set of information that a larger number of people can understand. And in this case, neuro-connectors, which are in fact electronic devices that make it possible to connect the electrical activity that occurs in the human brain and transport this information to other equipment that registers this same information, translate what I would like to talk to you about.


In the last five years, more and more companies have been hiring neurodiverse people for their staff. If we do a quick search on Google we realise that, besides there being companies that hire neurodiverse people, there are even companies that are only made up of neurodiverse people. And if some of you think that these companies are having economic or growth difficulties, think again, because this is not the case. And don't get stuck on the explanation that Microsoft would never have growth problems and that this is not due to hiring neurodiverse people. It has already been demonstrated that hiring neurodiverse people and implementing an inclusive and neurodiverse hiring policy has increased the well-being and quality of life of all employees, as well as the satisfaction of customers who use their products.


But how can we create a better and more functional connection between companies and neurodiverse people?


Several proposals exist to date. There are public bodies that have been created to receive applications from neurodiverse people and to be able to match them with companies that have applied to make this inclusive and neurodiverse hiring. I think these are fundamental initiatives that demonstrate the importance given to this issue. And we have already observed that there are private Organisations that have made efforts to create similar centres to carry out this same work, either for their Organisation but also for others that join the programme.


But as in so much of our life, I think it's fundamental that we can grow and develop new and better ways of doing things. It is as if we were talking about the brain's own development throughout life. And that, in many moments, we observe what is called neuroplasticity. That is, the capacity of the brain to learn and modulate new ways of doing things.


And as such, I think that Organisations can also continue to learn and change their ways of working. Just like all of us in society. And what I think it will be important to achieve is the possibility for any neurodiverse person to make their application process with the Organisations. This does not require the person to enrol in any programme that promotes neurodiversity. Even because people have the right to their anonymity and confidentiality, without the Organisation or their colleagues necessarily being aware of what the person's diagnosis is. And if they want to share it, then they should be able to choose to do so.


I am not leaving aside the great heterogeneity that we have within neurodiversity. Both in the different diagnoses and also in the different needs that each one requires. For example, in the case of Autism Spectrum Disorder, there will certainly be differences if we are talking about a person at level 1 or level 2. But it is also true that two autistic people within the same level 1 or 2 may also be different in their expression and needs. However, if we always work on this same autonomy and independence in the choices to be made throughout life, then we will have the possibility for neurodiverse people to reach this stage and send their application to any Organisation that they feel makes sense for them.


For example, although not what I wrote earlier, the following link shows how a simple webpage can easily connect neurodiverse people with Organisations - Neurodiversity Career Connector (simplifyhire.com).


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