In western culture; we make a habit of pathologizing individuals who don’t fit the mold. Those of us, who have never been able to fit the norm, have often bared the brunt of criticism and backlash for being unable to subscribe to the status quo. We’ve been medicated, misdiagnosed, misunderstood, and have baffled modern medicine and education. We became used to hiding our gifts or brilliance, for fear of standing out more. The majority of us struggled to exist in a world that couldn’t understand or support us. If we were extremely lucky, we might have had families that nurtured our individuality, and fought for our right to belong in the world. We might have even found ways to channel our uniqueness, in spite of the odds against us.
It is a great tragedy that in today’s time, there are still far too many children, adolescents, and adults who believe there is something fundamentally wrong with them. Our system is in deep need of a change. We can no longer relegate our more highly sensitive and divergent populations to the outer recesses of society. We can no longer just medicate the problems away. 
Our societal systems need to become educated. We need to be willing to educate and re-define western theories that no longer hold validity. Humans are evolving at a remarkable rate. Our systems need to be willing to grow to expand their ideas of what normal is, and accommodate for the extraordinary leaps in consciousness and changes in brain development becoming more and more prevalent.
There is a reason that 1 in 68 children in the U.S. have been diagnosed with Autism. There is a reason that more individuals are being born with sensory processing challenges more than ever before. There is a reason that people are becoming more self-aware, and thirsting to find the key to their own freedom and healing.
Our systems need to be willing to provide the holistic and comprehensive support necessary to facilitate healthy growth and development for every human. It is our responsibility to gently nurture the uniqueness and creativity within every individual.
I have had the incredible honor of witnessing what happens when children and adults are given the attunement, support, and skills they need to thrive and fully be themselves. When we welcome the full spectrum of an individual they become empowered, confident, and develop the courage and willingness to not only pursue their gifts, but also change the fabric of the known world.
We need to welcome the deviants, the freaks, “out of the box” thinkers, and the rebels. We must call the system busters and the black sheep home. Our world is in deep need of their gifts, and the fresh eyes through which they perceive the world.
Your sensitivities and diagnoses are incredible gifts in disguise. You have been misled to believe that you are a problem that needs to be fixed, when truly; you are the key to unearthing all the worlds known problems. Let us work together to find a new equilibrium. Let us welcome the diverse spectrum and color of individuality and difference, that is on the forefront of the creation of a new era and way of being. Together we can change the world.
