Oxford Neuroversity?

I'm a second-year undergrad studying Classics and I'm the disabled students’ officer for Wadham SU. I’ve been in that role since Trinity last year, supporting disabled students in the College. Being in the SU, changing stuff and helping people has been very cool. I think it’s very specific to Wadham, how politically active the SU is. I’ll be really sad to finish at the end of this year! Luckily, with the new society, I can continue doing similar things.

‘Oxford Neuroversity’. Yeah, it’s a really good name! Amelia Markeson came up with it. Obviously, it’s a play on ‘neurodiversity’ and ‘university’.

There's a lot of different types of neuro-divergences. For example, people with autism, ADHD, Tourette syndrome and specific learning disorders would be neurodivergent. But we think that what unites us are very positive traits, like having very high creativity and intense interests.

I identify as Neurodivergent. I have Tourette’s syndrome and Autism. The Tourette’s probably affects me a bit more negatively. It’s hard having to go to lectures and tutorials and be constantly suppressing. It's quite exhausting. But with the Autism, I don't think there are many negatives! I really love being autistic. It means that with my subject I get really hyper-fixated on it, and I really enjoy it.

I was doing my A-levels when I found out that I was autistic and it helped free me to become more myself and do the stuff I’m interested in. Now at university, I can continue focusing on what I’m really interested in without worrying about how I’m being perceived.

There are elements of my course that I really like. I'm very interested in the Roman Republic. It's sort of my thing! Also, I've been really interested in disability activism. Especially within the classics field. Outside of those things, I teach aerial circus! That’s skills like Trapeze. I've been doing that since I was quite young. I became fixated on it and it became very important in my life.

I think coming to University, I struggled a bit with it because when I was back in college, we had a dedicated hub for the neurodivergent and learning disabilities community. It was a physical space you could always go to and it was a haven for me. Losing that support system was quite difficult for me. While there is a support system here, like student support plans to help academically, it’s less of a visible, tangible thing. It’s not like a space where the community can come together.

It started with ‘adh_we’, which is a social media platform that launched at the start of this academic year. It was created by Amelia Markeson and Olly Markeson and its aim was to create a space for neurodivergent people. I became involved in that and helped to run events like neurodivergent study sessions and socials. We decided it would be great to have an official society that we could run via the adh_we platform, for an enduring presence in Oxford.

I think it would be really cool if when people are applying to university, they see that this is a space where they are really welcome. It would be amazing to provide a community where people who might struggle in neurotypical environments can come relax and be themselves.

We’ll definitely carry on some of the events established through adh_we that the community has found useful, like the study session specifically designed for neurodivergent people. It’s a study space where you can tic and stim and don't have to worry about being silent or sitting still - that kind of thing.

Going forwards, I’d be interested in doing more formal things. For example, there are companies that help neurodivergent people into jobs and internships. It would be great to work with some of them and make the society not only a community but also an opportunity!

We communicate a lot of what’s happening via the adh_we platform so do sign up to that! Or if you’re interested in helping out in some way, you can email me.

Yes! I’d say that even though the term ‘neurodivergence’ semantically suggests divergence from a norm, it’s important to say that being different isn’t a negative thing. Being neurotypical is not the ‘normal’, neutral way to be a person. Everyone is different and that’s all it is - difference.

That said, while being neurodivergent is not negative, people who are neurodivergent can definitely find life difficult in a very neurotypical environment. While my experiences have been very positive lately, it’s important to say that it can be very hard. It can be difficult and it’s okay to find it difficult.

Many thanks to Annis Wiltshire for their time.