Read our initial thoughts based on our Arts Council Funded project Kongress: Researching the Barriers to Engaging in the Arts for Neurodivergent Creatives.
Although we weren't commissioned to write a long list of recommendations, only to research the barriers, these are not comprehensive. We decided in our report to add recommendations we thought would initially make a difference if implemented as soon as possible. These recommendations and the concerns came from consultations with Neurodivergent creatives. We feel these would make a good start to parity of opportunity, recognition and support for Neurodivergent creatives in the arts.
Here are our questions and recommendations:
1: Where is the recognition?
Recommendation: We recommend that Neurodiversity is recognised as a unique diversity category
Recommendation: We recommend that Neurodivergence is recognised as an integral part of Neurodiversity and that Neurodivergent people have many cultures and protected characteristics that should be respected.
Recommendation: We believe everything possible needs to be done to ensure Neurodivergent creatives receive parity of opportunity, funding and appropriate support which is identified by members of all Neurodivergent cultures themselves.
Recommendation: We believe that more Neurodivergent Arts organisations need to be set up and funded, informed and led by Neurodivergent creatives.
Recommendation: We recommend all (Arts Council) funded organisations facilitate and encourage Neurodivergent creatives to initiate and evolve Neurodivergent creative clusters and peer support groups in their areas.
2: Where does the expertise lay?
Recommendation: We believe all (Arts Council) funded organisations should have a Neurodiversity policy.
Recommendation: We recommend that as part of the Neurodiversity policy all (Arts Council) funded organisations should have a Neurodivergent Arts Strategy that has been written, and continually updated, by Neurodivergent creatives of all cultures.
3: Where are Neurodivergent creatives in the figures?
Recommendation: We recommend as vital that organisations need to collect better data and also that Neurodivergence should be a monitoring requirement of all organisations that Arts Council England fund.
Recommendation: We believe that Neurodivergence needs to be seen holistically alongside and in conjunction with any Gender, Race, Sexuality and Socioeconomic considerations and positioning.
We do have concerns: We are concerned that if approximately 15% of the population are Neurodivergent (Link to Universal Music report 'Creative Differences Handbook' PDF) and that possibly up to 30% of the workforce are ND, then a huge majority of Neurodivergent employees are not disclosing and thus, not getting the support they require in order to perform to their peak. Is this proof of a lack of recognition, appropriate support or the way data is collected? It needs to be addressed.
June 2021
Image courtesy of Cat Researchers (Satirical Autism Research)