Those of us who are neurodivergent have brains that function a little differently from the neurotypical people. So who among us are neurodivergent? It turns out that there are many “conditions” that are considered neurodivergent:
- ADHD – attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder
- Dyslexia – difficulty processing written language
- Tourette’s – causes tics and uncontrolled movements and sounds
- Dyspraxia – coordination disorder that affects movement
- Dyscalculia – difficulty understanding numbers and doing math
- Down syndrome
- Epilepsy
- Bipolar disorder
- Obsessive Compulsive Disorder
- Anxiety
- Depression
- Autism spectrum
- Synesthesia – stimulation of one sense triggering another sense
How common is neurodivergence? Just for starters, one in forty-four eight year olds are diagnosed as being on the autism spectrum. 9.4 percent of the population is diagnosed with ADHD by the age of 18. And 20 percent of the population is dyslexic.
I am writing this post about neurodivergence because I wanted to talk about my synesthesia, which I did write about once before, a long time ago. Here are some types of synesthesia, a crossing over of the senses:
- Seeing colors when you hear music
- Tasting food when you see or hear a word
- Feeling the shape of food when you bite into it
- Seeing colors when you feel emotional about someone
- Hearing voices in your head when you read words
Synesthesia is usually present at birth, but it can also develop later in life. It comes from the Greek words synth (together) and ethesia (perception).
Synesthesia is thought to be partially genetic. Estimates of people with synesthesia range from 1 in 25,000 to 1 in 20. Many people have more than one type of synesthesia.
I don’t remember when I realized I had synesthesia, but I was way into adulthood. As a child, like most others with synesthesia, I assumed everyone was like me, and I didn’t really think about it much. Many years later, but after I knew I had synesthesia, I found a novel in the library and I liked the cover, so I borrowed it. Coincidentally, it was about a music reviewer who was synesthetic and could “see” music as colors and patterns. Reading that book piqued my interest in synesthesia, and that is when I started to do some research into it. A friend then told me about another novel that was about a synesthetic person, and I read that one, A Mango-Shaped Place.
I think I have the most common type of synesthesia: I have always seen letters, numbers, and days of the week — when I picture them in my mind — in color. The colors and numbers are always the same for the specific color or number or day of the week. In fact a couple of letters/numbers appear as an actual character, which also happens for some people. The colors have dimmed as I have gotten older, and some are no longer recognizable. It actually has been found that there is a tendency among people to see certain letters and numbers as the same colors across the board. However, not everyone sees numbers and letters as the same color as others. For me, S, 6, and Saturday have always been yellow. In fact, S (and possibly 6) are a little girl of about five years old with yellow pigtails. Wednesday is green. Thursday is purple. L is white with a black outline. A seems to be blue, and B seems to be red.
I wish I could see music as colors, since I am such a music fan and dabble in songwriting and piano, but I don’t.
Synesthesia does appear to occur more frequently in those involved in creative careers. Here are some famous synesthetes: Billie Eilish, Billy Joel, Vincent Van Gogh, Pharrell Williams, Duke Ellington, Marilyn Monroe, Franz Liszt, Stevie Wonder, Itzhak Perlman, and Nikola Tesla.
Anyone out there reading this with synesthesia? I asked my children. My daughter is not. My son thinks he might be.
NEWS: I was called to be on the Professional Podcast Network to talk about my business for five whole minutes at 2:07 p.m. EST, Monday December 6. Here is the link if you want to listen!
I don’t know if it’s a synesthesia or something else, but there are people I associate with a kind of food. For example, one guy always made me think of jelly doughnuts. Another of cold mashed potatoes. Another more recent one is cold string beans. These are random and rare, but very strong associations.
Wow! That is a weird one! I hope I make you think of jelly doughnuts and not cold string beans!!! I guess it could be synesthesia.
Hi Arlene,
Hope this note finds you well! I would like to add a category of neurodivergence to your list. A few of my favorite authors: Jae, Cheyenne Blue, and Chris Zett all have aphantasia. If my understanding is correct, their description is that they experience the world without forming mental images in their mind. My favorite author Jae says that she knows what an apple is but cannot form a mental image of an apple in her mind and cannot remember what it tastes like. For Jae, she says that she cannot picture in her mind what her mother looks like. It’s absolutely fascinating how we each interpret the world in such wildly differing ways. Vive la difference!
-Karen
Thanks so much for the comment. Fascinating. I have never heard of that!
what a gift!
I think so! Thanks!