4/09 From Difference to Strength: Neurodivergent Skills in Uncharted Spaces

We often talk about the challenges of being neurodivergent — but what about the strengths that come with it?

Join the Duke Neurodiversity Advocates (DNA) for a conversation about the ways neurodivergent people bring unique creativity, focus, and problem-solving skills to fields that weren’t designed for them — from conservation biology and computer science to design, art, and policy.

We’ll explore how traits like hyperfocus, pattern recognition, and deep curiosity — often pathologized in academic settings — can actually become superpowers in research, activism, and innovation.

Drawing inspiration from recent research (and a feature in The Guardian on neurodiversity in conservation and technology), we’ll discuss:

• How special interests and hyperfixations can drive expertise and discovery

• The value of unconventional thinking in fields like ecology, engineering, and art

• How neurodivergent minds approach creativity, systems, and problem-solving differently

• The tension between “accommodation” and “cultivation”: how to make spaces that amplify these strengths rather than suppress them