![\"Neurodivergent](\"https:\/\/www.japantimes.co.jp\/japantimes\/uploads\/images\/2026\/06\/12\/545765.jpg\" "\\"Neurodivergent")
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\n Neurodivergent employees often find themselves explaining their strengths and limitations to colleagues and supervisors, navigating workplaces that remain largely designed for neurotypical workers.
\n | ANNA PETEK\n <\/p>\n
When Karasuyama Hospital opened its adult developmental disorder clinic in 2008, it filled a long-standing gap in care for people who had gone undiagnosed throughout childhood. One reason, according to clinic director Dr. Haruhisa Ohta, was that many did not have intellectual disabilities.<\/p>\n
\u201cMany had average or above-average intelligence,\u201d Ohta says. \u201cClinicians working with children and adolescents were more likely to encounter what were considered typical presentations of autism or ADHD. The people who came to our clinic, by contrast, often had no intellectual impairment and had long been viewed as having personality problems, character flaws or educational issues rather than developmental disorders.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Over the years, however, Ohta says doctors have become increasingly aware of the risk of overdiagnosis: Not everyone who arrives at the clinic convinced they have ASD or ADHD is found to have either condition. At Karasuyama Hospital, about 45% of people who visited the clinic between 2008 and 2017 were diagnosed with ASD or ADHD. The rest were diagnosed with a range of mental health conditions, including adjustment disorder, anxiety and personality disorders.<\/p>\n
Nevertheless, demand for support for people with ASD and ADHD is likely to grow. A 2022 education ministry survey found that 8.8% of elementary and junior high school students may have a developmental disorder, many of whom may continue to face challenges into adulthood.<\/p>\n
Learning together<\/p>\n
Every session of the ASD program starts with an icebreaker in which each attendee shares what\u2019s been happening in their life. Topics are open, and the conversation ranges from an overbearing boss at work or a cat that keeps peeing on the sofa to a movie someone saw over the weekend.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The discussion then shifts to the day\u2019s theme. During one session in May, participants focused on \u201cassertion,\u201d where the goal was to learn how to consider others\u2019 feelings before expressing their own opinions.<\/p>\n
Participants then broke into groups of three for a role-playing exercise. One played a friend or co-worker who was upset about not being invited to an outing, while another explained that they hadn\u2019t extended an invitation because the person seemed busy. The third participant observed the exchange and offered feedback.<\/p>\n
Through the exercise, participants learn to wait until the other person has finished talking before responding. They then practice expressing their opinions or feelings with a preface such as, \u201cExcuse me, but \u2026 .\u201d<\/p>\n
The atmosphere of the session is relaxed and supportive, reinforced by the group\u2019s rule against criticizing other members. Takeru Mizuno, a psychiatric occupational therapist who facilitates the program, explains that while participants tend to be nervous at first, they gradually let their guard down as they continue meeting the same people every two weeks.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The program has evolved with feedback from participants. It now covers themes such as greetings; initiating, maintaining and ending conversations; facial expressions; emotional regulation; and stress management. Participants also learn about developmental disorders, available social services and the importance of peer support.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n \n Through role-playing exercises and group discussions, participants can learn communication skills while building confidence in themselves and their abilities. A woman in her mid-30s who had been diagnosed with both ASD and ADHD says attending the program has helped her develop a more positive outlook.\u00a0<\/p>\n The woman, who declined to be named for privacy reasons, says she has long struggled in social situations.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cI never fit in at school because my interests were so narrow,\u201d she says. \u201cFor example, I had no interest whatsoever in romantic relationships, and classmates accused me of not sharing who I liked.\u201d<\/p>\n The woman, who majored in chemistry at university, now works as a computer programmer. While she was initially hired as a systems engineer, she had trouble organizing schedules and grasping the big picture of her projects. She recalls being so bothered by tiny details that she couldn\u2019t move her projects forward.\u00a0<\/p>\n Her boss has told her off numerous times and is particularly harsh when work gets busy. \u201cEven when I was working overtime until 8 p.m., my boss said, \u2019Are you even remotely interested in this job?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n Her mother and sister became so concerned about her that they booked an appointment for her at Karasuyama Hospital. When she received her diagnosis a few years ago, she thought it would reassure her parents.<\/p>\n \u201cI was worried: What if I turned out not to have the condition?\u201d she remembers thinking. \u201cThat would mean I was just incompetent.\u201d<\/p>\n Her self-confidence has taken a hit from a series of hurtful experiences. But since joining the program, she has gradually begun to feel better about herself and is more willing to take on things she had previously never imagined doing.<\/p>\n \u201cI am amazed by other members who live on their own,\u201d says the woman, who lives with her parents. \u201cAnd now I\u2019ve begun to think about the possibility of living by myself. It\u2019s not like I want to leave home now, but with my parents getting older, I may be forced to live on my own at some point. I\u2019m learning how to cook from my mother. If I can master even a few dishes, it would help boost my self-confidence.\u201d<\/p>\n Stories like hers raise broader questions about how society responds to neurodiversity. Do neurodivergent people need to learn coping skills, or do the people around them need to change? More fundamentally, does Japan\u2019s emphasis on harmony, conformity and collectivism make life particularly difficult for those who think and operate differently?\u00a0<\/p>\n Reading the room<\/p>\n Kikuchi, a 36-year-old data engineer who has ADHD and autistic traits, says he has struggled with what the Japanese call \u201ck\u016bki o yomu,\u201d which translates as \u201creading the air\u201d and involves interpreting nonverbal cues in order to adapt to different social situations.\u00a0 \u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cI feel that Japanese culture doesn\u2019t quite match my personality,\u201d Kikuchi says during a recent interview at a Tokyo cafe after his appointment at Karasuyama Hospital. He asked to be identified only by his family name so he could discuss sensitive issues. \u201cPeople who are good at their jobs can navigate through fuzzy social rules, but I think people with developmental disorders tend to struggle.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n \n Researchers say cultural expectations around conformity and reading social cues can create additional challenges for some neurodivergent people in Japan. Over coffee, Kikuchi comes across as cordial, calm and articulate, but he says this demeanor reflects his use of \u201csocial camouflaging,\u201d an often unconscious coping mechanism that helps protect him from being hurt by others.<\/p>\n \u201cI pretend to be normal,\u201d he says. \u201cI now unconsciously go out of my way to adjust my behavior, and I become extremely exhausted afterward.<\/p>\n Fumiyo Oshima, a professor of psychology at Chiba University, is an expert on social camouflaging, also known as \u201cmasking,\u201d among autistic people. She describes it as the process of hiding neurodivergent traits in order to appear neurotypical.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cFor example, they try to appear sociable by walking up to people and saying, \u2018It\u2019s so hot today, isn\u2019t it?\u2019 even though they have no real interest in the topic at all,\u201d she says. \u201cIn another example, autistic people are known to avoid eye contact, but they may deliberately force themselves to look people in the eye so they won\u2019t be perceived as autistic.\u201d<\/p>\n In a 2017 paper<\/a>, British researcher Laura Hull wrote that while camouflaging likely occurs among people diagnosed with ASD and those with milder autistic traits, the experience is \u201cextremely effortful and challenging to one\u2019s identity\u201d for the former.\u00a0<\/p>\n Inspired by Hull\u2019s work, Oshima has studied the impact of social camouflaging on autistic people\u2019s mental health across different cultures, including in Japan and Sweden. Her research suggests that autistic people in Sweden engage in far less social camouflaging than their counterparts in Japan, a difference she attributes to greater social acceptance.<\/p>\n A comparative study<\/a> of autistic adults in the United Kingdom and Japan found that the more people camouflaged their autistic traits, the worse their mental health tended to be in the U.K. In Japan, by contrast, researchers found that both extremes carried risks: People who camouflaged very little and those who did so extensively reported poorer mental health than those who struck a middle ground.\u00a0<\/p>\n Oshima believes cultural differences may explain the contrast.<\/p>\n \u201cBecause Japanese culture tends to value conformity and uniformity, people may feel a greater sense of security when they do the same things as everyone else,\u201d Oshima says. \u201cBy contrast, Britain places a stronger emphasis on the individual, so people there may be more likely to ask themselves, \u2019Why do I have to do this?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n Oshima says early social inclusion is vital to the mental health of neurodivergent people and argues that greater awareness among the people around them is what is really needed.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
\n | ANNA PETEK\n <\/p>\n<\/p>\n
\n | ANNA PETEK\n <\/p>\n