UNDERSTANDING THE MENTAL TOLL OF MASKING NEURODIVERSITY

AS THE global community recently observed Neurodiversity Celebration Week, South Africa finds itself at a crossroads of awareness and action.

- VUYILE MADWANTSI

This annual initiative aims to honour the diverse ways neurodivergent individuals experience the world uniquely due to conditions, such as Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), as they navigate their everyday lives.

Neurodiversity encompasses a range of conditions, including:

Neurodivergent individuals are estimated to represent around 20% of the population. Yet, services tailored to meet their needs remain limited, often leaving them misunderstood and underserved.

To gain deeper insights into this complex issue, Independent Media Lifestyle spoke to Wisdom Mkandawire, the CEO and founder of Invisible Diversity, whose personal journey reflects the broader struggles experienced by many neurodivergent individuals in South Africa.

A long road to diagnosis

For Mkandawire, the journey to an autism diagnosis was both challenging and liberating. After years of struggling with what he now understands as executive dysfunction and sensory sensitivities, he was diagnosed with autism in February 2022.

“My anxiety was shooting through the roof and I was hospitalised a couple of times. I started trying to find the root cause of my anxiety, going through hypotheses like asthma or other chronic conditions but none of those explained my challenges”

He added: “I went through an ADHD screening and later an autism diagnosis process. When I received the diagnosis, it was a relief because it gave me meaning and understanding,” he says.