Great Minds Think Unalike: The Benefits of ADHD, Autism, Dyslexia and OCD

by Peter Ampe, Emily Rammant

• 10% different, 100% how to turn your difference into your greatest strength ‘A must-read for anyone who combines a neurodivergent brain with good intelligence.’ – Prof. dr. Theo Compernolle, neuropsychiatrist and author of Brain Chains and How to Unchain your Brain • ‘Our economy needs creativity and innovation in order to stand out. This book shows that neurodivergent people can make all the difference. A book brimming with positivity!’ – Vivian Roks, Innovation Lead Randstad Group • ‘What an absolute gem of a book! Lots of people will recognize themselves, family members or colleagues. At least, that was the case for me. The authors chose to focus on talents rather than potential pitfalls, an eye-opener for employers keen to promote inclusion.’ – Elke Jeurissen, chair of VDAB, Flanders’ public employment service. • ‘In our industry, creativity is often enabled by neurodivergent minds. This book helps us create a more neurodiverse and neuro-inclusive workplace for them.’ – Laura Maness, Global CEO of Grey Global Group You can’t sit still. You don’t like unannounced visitors. You always triple-check if the lights are out. But you also see details that no-one else notices. You’re always coming up with surprising solutions. You can focus intensely for hours at a stretch. Usually without realising it, many people lie somewhere on the spectrum of a neurodivergent condition. We often tend to focus on the many downsides of neurodivergent conditions such as AD(H)D, ASD, dyslexia and OCD. This book takes a different approach by looking in depth at the special talents that go hand in hand with these conditions. Whether you already have a diagnosis or simply feel you’re somewhere on the neuroatypical spectrum, one thing is once you’ve identified your unique talents, you’ll be able to make more focused choices in your life and work. You’ll discover which jobs best showcase your talents, which colleagues complement your personality, and which environments and corporate cultures are right for you.

Genres: Nonfiction

208 pages, Paperback

Published June 30, 2023

Reviews

[Theresa · Rating 2 out of 5]

There is valuable information here. Just not in the first five chapters. Those chapters are full of ablist language and poorly translated explanations of what ASD and ADHD are.

The author obviously knows what he's discussing especially on page 165 where he totally shuts down the idea that children "grow out" of Autism or ADHD.

That's why the horrible language and misinformation in the first five chapters is so infuriating!

The chapters I liked best were about Dyslexia and OCD. They were written by Emily. Peter's formula for finding career matches by strengths (positives) that give you an ideal workplace. At least then you can figure out what works for you by having a starting point.

I would be interested to see what folks thought of the Dutch language version. Maybe the first five chapters make better sense and don't seem so bad in Dutch?

Probably better to stick with Workplace Neurodiversity Rising by Lyric Rivera instead of this book until an extensive English rewrite of at least the first five chapters.

[Katie · Rating 3 out of 5]

skimmed a lot of this