What if we stopped talking about neurodiversity and started considering bodymind complexities? This shift might help us avoid superficial labels, honor the agency of relationships, and recognize that it’s not all in our heads.
Let’s break this down.
Diversity suggests there are many different kinds of people. Of course, that’s true. But let’s not be reductionist. Framing it as diversity might keep us stuck in labels.
It’s like cataloging the different species in a patch of land. A long list might tell you what’s there, but not the stories shaped by the reciprocal interactions that co-create the conditions for every species to thrive. These are the stories of ecology and place. These stories are far richer than any catalogue, and can never capture the full richness of the web of life.
Same for students. What matters is the complexity within each of us, the complexities of our relationships, and what emerges from them, not simply labeling.
Now, I’m not saying naming isn’t important. It really is. But we can’t stop there. We have to be able to go beyond the surface. Names are only as useful as the possibilities they create. Names shouldn’t essentialize so much as serve as markers.
Relational configurations create the conditions within which individuals thrive, or fail to thrive. The environment shapes us. So do socio-cultural norms. So does the weather. So does everything. We participate in networks and emerge from them.
And it’s not just a neuro-thing. It’s a bodymind thing. All our quirks and differences come from more than our brains; they involve all our senses, all our organs. To make this only a neuro-thing is to perpetuate reductionism. It makes it seem likes it’s all in our heads.
Bodymind complexities also reduce stigma. They appreciate that each of us is complex and that this complexity exists within the dynamic relationships and conditions in which we participate.
When we appreciate that we are all complex in bodymind, we might just become a bit more curious about others and ourselves. We might even stop to pause. We might go beyond labels and into the person.
Bodymind complexities tells a richer story of our interrelations than neurodiversity. It’s more than a new phrase; it’s a shift in perspective.
Coconut Thinking 