Making Hay and Neurodivergence

Neurodivergent and hypersensitive nervous systems have a lot in common with nervous systems that hold trauma.  I have learned that my traumatized horse Diva can only handle a certain amount of stimulation before she needs to go away and let it off.  She loves people and is always the first one to the gate to greet me.  But I have noticed that, with my clients, she can connect with them for a while and then leaves the area.  I think the intensity of being present and connecting with a human takes a lot out of her.  Sometimes she just walks off for a bit and then comes back.  Sometimes she needs to run it off.  But she has learned what to do and when she needs to do it.  When I first got her, all she did was paw with her front feet.  I had to put rubber mats down where I tie her to the fence or she dug big holes with her feet.  I have slowly taught her other ways to dispel that pent-up energy – sighing, licking and chewing, gently blowing out as she exhales, shaking her head and body.  And she lays down, flat out, to rest more than any horse I have ever owned.

Working with neurodivergent clients is not that different than working with Diva.  The first big hurdle is helping them to get in contact with their body if they don’t feel any sensations.  Others may feel sensations too much.  But once we establish that the sensations are the body’s messages, we can learn how regulate the nervous system.  Spending time with a horse is very calming, whether grooming or just hanging out.  We also go for walks in nature and notice how our nervous system settles when we spend time under a giant spruce tree.  I also have a special hammock that allows a body to completely relax and let go, with the hammock giving total support.  I imagine it is somewhat like being in the womb.  There are also different ways of breathing that can settle the nervous system.

For young children, I love working with the parents, teaching them about the autonomic nervous system and what is needed to find calm and connection in a hypersensitive nervous system.  I actually have some clients that came to me for help with their children’s anxiety but when I worked with the parents first, I didn’t need to see the kids!  Teaching the parents and helping them with their own anxiety resonated with the children and the whole family system.  This is work that I find especially gratifying.

In thinking about the young man who helped us stack hay bales, I am impressed by his ability to recognize when his nervous system was becoming overactivated and then going off by himself to do what he needed to do to regulate.  If employers understood what a hypersensitive nervous system needs, I believe that it may be quite possible to accommodate many more neurodivergent people in the workplace.  We would then be able to look at the abilities, instead of the disabilities.