Posts Tagged ‘Neurodiversity’
[DotJs2025] Coding and ADHD: Where We Excel
In tech’s torrent, where focus frays and novelty beckons, ADHD’s archetype—attention’s anarchy—often masquerades as malaise, yet harbors hidden harmonics for code’s cadence. Abbey Perini, a full-stack artisan and technical scribe from Atlanta’s tech thicket, celebrated these synergies at dotJS 2025. A Nexcor developer passionate about accessibility and advocacy, Abbey unpacked DSM-5’s deficits—deficit a misnomer for regulation’s riddle—subtypes’ spectrum (inattentive, impulsive, combined), reframing “disorder” as distress’s delimiter.
Abbey’s audit: ADHD’s allure in dev’s domain—dopamine’s deficit sated by puzzles’ pursuit, hyperfocus’s hurricane on hooks or heuristics. Rabbit holes reward: quirks queried, systems synthesized—Danny Donovan’s “itchy” unknowns quelled by Google’s grace. Creativity cascades: unconventional conundrums cracked, prototypes proliferating. Passion’s pendulum: “passionate programmer” badge, hobbies’ graveyard notwithstanding—novelty’s nectar, troubleshooting’s triumph.
Managerial missives: resets’ rapidity (forgetfulness as feature), sprints’ scaffolding (tickets as tethers, novelty’s nod). Praise’s potency: negativity’s nectar negated. Abbey’s anthem: fireworks in cubic confines—embrace eccentricity, harness hyperactivity for heuristics’ harvest.
Neurodiversity’s Nexus in Code
Abbey anatomized: DSM’s dated diction, subtypes’ shades—combined’s chaos, yet coding’s chemistry: dopamine drafts from debugging’s depths.
Strengths’ Spotlight and Strategies
Rabbit trails to resolutions, creativity’s cornucopia—Abbey’s arc: interviews’ “passion,” rabbit holes’ recall. Managerial mantra: sprints soothe, praise potentiates—ADHD’s assets amplified.
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[PHPForumParis2023] Learn and Share Differently – Aurélie Vache
Aurélie Vache, a Developer Advocate at OVHcloud, captivated the audience at Forum PHP 2023 with her keynote on reimagining how we learn and share knowledge in the tech world. With a passion for simplifying complex concepts through accessible explanations and vibrant sketchnotes, Aurélie shared her personal journey from a childhood marked by shyness to becoming a celebrated speaker and author. Her talk emphasized the power of embracing individuality and creativity to make technical learning inclusive, particularly for neurodivergent individuals, and inspired developers to rethink traditional approaches to education and knowledge-sharing.
Embracing Individuality in Learning
Aurélie began by highlighting a universal challenge: the expectation to conform to standardized educational frameworks despite our unique differences. With approximately 8 billion people on Earth, each with distinct learning styles, she questioned why technical resources, like programming books, often follow a uniform format. Drawing from her own struggles as a child who found it difficult to speak, Aurélie shared how her love for drawing and Legos evolved into creating sketchnotes—visual summaries that distill complex technical concepts into digestible illustrations. This approach, she explained, not only helped her understand technologies like Kubernetes and Docker but also resonated with others seeking alternative learning paths.
Sketchnotes as a Tool for Inclusion
Delving deeper, Aurélie showcased how her sketchnotes have become a powerful medium for making technical content accessible, particularly for neurodivergent individuals. Responding to an audience question, she noted feedback from colleagues and friends with ADHD, who found her visual summaries easier to process than dense texts. Her 13-year-old dyslexic son also benefited from her illustrated notes, which aided his schoolwork. By emphasizing key information through visuals, Aurélie’s work bridges gaps for those who find traditional resources, like O’Reilly books, challenging due to attention or processing difficulties. Her approach underscores the importance of tailoring educational tools to diverse needs.
Inspiring Creative Knowledge-Sharing
Aurélie concluded by urging developers to break free from conventional methods and share knowledge in ways that reflect their unique perspectives. Her journey from creating a single sketchnote during the 2020 lockdown to publishing illustrated books on cloud technologies demonstrates the impact of embracing one’s passions. By fostering creativity and leveraging supportive communities, she encouraged the audience to experiment with formats like videos, blogs, or talks to make learning engaging and inclusive. Aurélie’s call to action inspired attendees to rethink how they contribute to the tech ecosystem, prioritizing authenticity over conformity.