Spotlight: Leading teams with the Neurodivergent Superpower

"There’s no cure, the diagnosis is an explanation of your actions. Let people learn differently." 📖

I sat down with Henry Kelly to discuss being a Neurodivergent leader in the games industry. 🧠

Read on to hear his raw experience of living with ADHD and Autism and how we can all lend a hand in being more compassionate! 💜

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#neurodiversity#gamesindustry#adhdawarenessmonth

Neurodivergence is usually termed as when one's brain processes, learns, and/or behaves differently from what is considered "typical." It describes neurological differences that may be familiar, such as attention deficit disorder with hyperactivity (ADHD), being on the autism spectrum and dyslexia. I’d like to set out some common themes neurodivergent people struggle with and ways we can actively engage with our views and actions on ADHD and Autism, not so much as a concept or movement but to make people feel more included and to allow them to bring their creative brains to the table.

Neurodiversity within a company should not be a one hit policy that sweeps individual differences to one side. We should be supporting peoples needs on a case-by-case basis with compassion at the forefront. Within society living with ADHD and Autism usually comes with a stigma and preconceive ideas on how neurodivergent people act, live and work. We very rarely hear from leaders within our industry speaking about challenges they face as a Neurodivergent person and as a Lead with the gaming industry it has its own set of challenges. I sat down with Henry Kelly a Lead Environment Artist with six years AAA gaming experience to discuss how Neurodiversity impacts day to day life and how it plays a key factor in his success.

Personally, I have worked closely with neurodivergent people throughout my professional life and have always been interested in their methods of working and first hand noticed some struggles they face. To start with I wanted Henry to give me some background on his diagnosis and how I could structure the conversation for comfortability.

My first query, quite broad was to delve into what it’s like to be Neurodivergent. What I loved about Henry’s energy is that he didn’t start the conversation with troubles or difficulties but went on to list famous innovative minds, in which scientists believe could have been Neurodivergent themselves. Such as, Albert Einstein, Galileo and the Wright Brothers. Henry had quite a late diagnosis of ADHD and was 25 years old when it was officially recognised. At first, he didn’t believe it and spent a huge amount of time researching how different his brain was wired and how he could use those traits to help him grow as a person. Back then Henry was working in sales and constantly felt the need for praise and if he didn’t receive that, over time his mood and energy depleted, and everyday tasks started to become unorganised, and he’d become forgetful. Struggling to focus his mind and having issues communicating in the right way. Something Henry pointed out is that the ADHD mind is like a cave person in modern times. The brain is built to be on the hunt and constantly on the lookout, so is forever stimulated. But hasn’t developed a social structure that goes in line with modern times, so struggles with personal relationships. Over time he developed ways of bypassing the difficulties by making lists to keep on top of things and using his hyper focus trait to fly through tasks he set himself. On a personal relationship level, he found people who could not only relate and understand him but more so wanted to support him.

One thing Henry wanted everyone to know about being Neurodiverse was simple. “It’s real!” And he said it with such passion. He is not a supporter of the thought it’s a disability or something that should hold you back. But wants it to be seen for what it is. Which is brains being built differently. They will think differently. Act differently. Ultimately people will learn differently. Henry had first-hand knowledge of this, as part of his career he had taught Game Art at Escape Studios. For him reading a large group of text was a struggle and he would often lose interest so finding alternative methods to learn really spoke to him. So, while teaching he made it accessible for all, instead of just written classes his students would have access to visuals, recorded audios and step by step videos.

Cultural references really help us to visualise real struggle, so when asking Henry about books, shows and movies he mentioned right away how much he related to Sheldon Cooper from the Big Bang Theory and cited how it was one of the only story lines that really captivated what a high functioning Neurodivergent person can be like to interact with. Even though the creators of Big Bang Theory have said Sheldon Cooper was not neurodiverse, the relationship his friends have with him and how they learn to support him, really resonated with Henry.

Day to day the biggest struggle Henry discussed was keeping his mind focused. When he’s taking on a lot of information over a long period of time his brain wants to shutdown or zone out. Even with prolonged conversation of general chit chat his mind wanders off. Gradually his attention dips and when working this can sometimes lead to performance dips. To overcome these issues, Henry uses a variety of methods to help with concentration. He swims in the evenings and mid-week uses gym sessions to help with his mental state. On work out days he says his concentration level is much higher and he doesn’t feel as hyperactive. With Henry’s passion being game art, his love for games also help to keep his mind stimulated.

Henry also uses music as a source of concentration. He introduced me to 8D music, which is a special type of audio effect that changes the way you experience music. When listening to an 8D track with headphones, various parts of the recording shift from one ear to the other throughout the song keeping the mind alert. Oppositely, to calm his mind he listens to Brown Noise, which is similar to white noise but has a lower, deeper quality. Scientists have found that brown noise increases dopamine levels and helps with a more focused cognitive performance.

My conversation with Henry was so eye opening. He’s such a positive presence and works ten times harder to make sure no one knows he’s struggling. My key take aways from our conversation are that Neurodiversity means so much more than a group of disorders and sweeping generalisations, its allowing people to learn in different ways and letting them have a place at the table alike everyone else. Utilising their hyper focus traits to make business more innovative and allowing them freedom to put their creative minds to work.