A few months ago I heard Tore Whanau give a brilliant talk to the Young Neurodiversity Champions at a function at Parliament about how her recent diagnosis of ADHD impacted on her job as Mayor. (I think it is OK to report her speech on this empathetic substack as it was a public event, and it was such a great speech). The diagnosis explained for her why she had at times had problems with alcohol and self organisation. And the extreme fatigue she often got in dealing with so many people with different agendas (which we the public would see as the media judgement of her 'poor' 'performance' in media interviews). After her diagnosis she was much more aware of self care. The hundreds of young people in the audience (mostly under about 25) of course got it and she was applauded as an important and staunch role model. As was Chloe who also spoke. It would be good if more in the media and public understood about neurodiversity.
I always love your thoughtful take on life's issues, and this is one of your best. As the parent of a neurodivergent child, now an adult, it has often been heartbreaking to observe the way people have treated her. She has had to deal with all those issues you mention, but is finally (at 47) living a life we don't worry about. Like many neurodivergent people, she is very intelligent, but her other difficulties have made it hard to participate in society. I hate watching how Tory Whanau is treated - she seems to represent everything this horrible government hates and fears. Why are people so cruel?
Honestly Emily I didn't even read the whole piece, because I am BURSTING with YESSS!!! and have been talking about this a lot. I guarantee that every single woman run out of parliament in the past few years either has PTSD and/or is neurodiverse. The emotional disregulation that leads to yelling at people, for example. All of them for doing things that are NOTHING compared to the toxic behaviour of our MPs over the decades, but then "boys will be boys" even when they know better. So much lip service is paid to accommodation, but people want their disabled perfect and angelic at all times. Deserving. BAH.
Thanks so much for saying this Emily. I'm 43 and wrapping my head around a recent ADHD and autism diagnosis and all the grief and rage and validation and 'OMG of course!' moments that entails. When Tory spoke about her diagnosis I was filled with admiration. I felt the same about Chloe Swarbrick before I'd even dallied with the possibility I could be neurodiverse too. The discourse around Tory has been gutting and affected me more than I'd like to admit. I've been very open about my diagnosis because of all the folk I have met in the same boat. As a writer with a (very modest) public platform I have always been open about my mental health. The recent commentary around this all has been the first time in years I wondered whether I was doing the right thing. Those thoughts were only brief cos I'm a stroppy ol witch now, but I hate to think how many younger, more impressionable folk would see that and dive right into the closet. The consolation I do have is that more people are talking and through that there is more understanding, especially among young people. A friend of mine talked about her daughter telling her about a boy having a meltdown in class. She'd said "it was okay, he just needed to be somewhere quiet, he's got a bit of the tism". I loved that. So yeah, thanks heaps. People like yourself calling out this ableist shitwittery for what it is, is exactly what we need.
screaming into the void of this government is so exhausting and punishing, and yet it has to be done. Thank you for refusing to be silenced, and also modelling how we can respectfully critique the work of fellow journalists, even those we respect!
I so admire Tori Whanau for revealing her neurodiversity. To have such a demanding job along with all she has to work around is nothing short of amazing! No wonder this govt is appointing a commissioner to oversee running of WCC, a woman let alone a ND one is something way outside their understanding. I'm surprised they allow women politicians in their party, a couple have been moved on from their portfolios, but it's ok to be a white male and abuse people whilst drunk under the guise of 'it was a joke'.
Excellent as always Emily!! Also I honestly think stuff have lost credibility as having there CEO on this group and it’s like you are honestly not objective when reporting about the Wellington Council or the Mayor Tory Whanau.
I feel a bit like I did when I was young and at a McDonalds playground and my movement got out of synch with the bouncy Grimace and my head rattled back and forth between two vertical bars for a few seconds. Bangbangbangbangbangbang.
Absolutely: 'nothing about us without us'. For too long, mediocre white males assumed they were capable of understanding and speaking and deciding for everyone in society, and they were clearly not, being invested (intentionally or not) in maintaining the patriarchal systems which kept people like them at the top and oppressed, deliberately or casually, everyone else, to varying degrees. Minority groups (even large ones like, say, women) had to fight for the vote, for equal rights, for equality, for consideration, for representation....and the fights continue.
As representation has become more diverse, there have been real benefits, real gains. There have had to be provisions and changes to enable those diverse people to be comfortable and able to be present and participating. Physically accessible buildings, interpreters, child care facilities and provisions (like spaces for breastfeeding on the premises that aren't toilets or broom cupboards), voice-to-text, text-to-voice, deterrent consequences for any other participants that use derogatory language in the workplace and much more. Some have been trivial to implement, some less so.
But
Bangbangbingbangbong
Is there a limit?
At some point, as with many jobs, you need to have certain personal attributes, to be successful in that position. Knowing a few ND people that struggle hugely with executive functioning, they'd be hard pressed to hold down any job (let alone one with so many balls in the air as running a city council). Just things like turning up on time, with the right stuff, in suitable clothing, is beyond them. Some accommodations can be made, sure, but there's a limit. I don't think that many employers that would be happy with someone consistently being 1.5-2h late because, using a very specific example, they couldn't find the "right" earrings. Others I know have developed various workarounds to manage their extra challenges, and they've done more than OK with those (though, since diagnosis, wonder how much better they could have done had they known earlier, and been able to access meds earlier). The level of disability with some neurodiversities is also diverse, and can be quite severe, so it will be a subset, the more capable among the ND, that can do well in politics, with understanding and a little bit of appropriately directed support. The articulate ones. The at least semi-organised ones. And they will hopefully be good at understanding, speaking for, and deciding things on behalf of those more severely affected - certainly they must be more capable than the stale pale males that formerly predominated.
[Aside that I can't figure out where to put: We don't elect children, and assume that adults are capable of understanding, speaking for and deciding things on behalf of this rather sizeable sector of society. Not sure NZ is doing so great at this so far.]
Thanks Emily for your insightful take on the Tory Whanau mayoralty.
I was an enthusiastic support of Tory when she first appeared on the local body radar. But somewhere along the way I started to have some doubts about her ability to do the job of Mayor. Looks like I fell for a well orchestrated media campaign by the usual suspects. When I saw the names of those who financed the propaganda I immediately knew that I had been conned.
A few months ago I heard Tore Whanau give a brilliant talk to the Young Neurodiversity Champions at a function at Parliament about how her recent diagnosis of ADHD impacted on her job as Mayor. (I think it is OK to report her speech on this empathetic substack as it was a public event, and it was such a great speech). The diagnosis explained for her why she had at times had problems with alcohol and self organisation. And the extreme fatigue she often got in dealing with so many people with different agendas (which we the public would see as the media judgement of her 'poor' 'performance' in media interviews). After her diagnosis she was much more aware of self care. The hundreds of young people in the audience (mostly under about 25) of course got it and she was applauded as an important and staunch role model. As was Chloe who also spoke. It would be good if more in the media and public understood about neurodiversity.
That's amazing❤️ I'm so glad the young people got to hear that. And of what I know about Tory that sounds like her it's so brave.
I always love your thoughtful take on life's issues, and this is one of your best. As the parent of a neurodivergent child, now an adult, it has often been heartbreaking to observe the way people have treated her. She has had to deal with all those issues you mention, but is finally (at 47) living a life we don't worry about. Like many neurodivergent people, she is very intelligent, but her other difficulties have made it hard to participate in society. I hate watching how Tory Whanau is treated - she seems to represent everything this horrible government hates and fears. Why are people so cruel?
Honestly Emily I didn't even read the whole piece, because I am BURSTING with YESSS!!! and have been talking about this a lot. I guarantee that every single woman run out of parliament in the past few years either has PTSD and/or is neurodiverse. The emotional disregulation that leads to yelling at people, for example. All of them for doing things that are NOTHING compared to the toxic behaviour of our MPs over the decades, but then "boys will be boys" even when they know better. So much lip service is paid to accommodation, but people want their disabled perfect and angelic at all times. Deserving. BAH.
I am totally with you Maryanne!
Thanks so much for saying this Emily. I'm 43 and wrapping my head around a recent ADHD and autism diagnosis and all the grief and rage and validation and 'OMG of course!' moments that entails. When Tory spoke about her diagnosis I was filled with admiration. I felt the same about Chloe Swarbrick before I'd even dallied with the possibility I could be neurodiverse too. The discourse around Tory has been gutting and affected me more than I'd like to admit. I've been very open about my diagnosis because of all the folk I have met in the same boat. As a writer with a (very modest) public platform I have always been open about my mental health. The recent commentary around this all has been the first time in years I wondered whether I was doing the right thing. Those thoughts were only brief cos I'm a stroppy ol witch now, but I hate to think how many younger, more impressionable folk would see that and dive right into the closet. The consolation I do have is that more people are talking and through that there is more understanding, especially among young people. A friend of mine talked about her daughter telling her about a boy having a meltdown in class. She'd said "it was okay, he just needed to be somewhere quiet, he's got a bit of the tism". I loved that. So yeah, thanks heaps. People like yourself calling out this ableist shitwittery for what it is, is exactly what we need.
screaming into the void of this government is so exhausting and punishing, and yet it has to be done. Thank you for refusing to be silenced, and also modelling how we can respectfully critique the work of fellow journalists, even those we respect!
❤️❤️❤️❤️
I so admire Tori Whanau for revealing her neurodiversity. To have such a demanding job along with all she has to work around is nothing short of amazing! No wonder this govt is appointing a commissioner to oversee running of WCC, a woman let alone a ND one is something way outside their understanding. I'm surprised they allow women politicians in their party, a couple have been moved on from their portfolios, but it's ok to be a white male and abuse people whilst drunk under the guise of 'it was a joke'.
Absolutely.
Epic column Emily!
Thank you again.
Excellent as always Emily!! Also I honestly think stuff have lost credibility as having there CEO on this group and it’s like you are honestly not objective when reporting about the Wellington Council or the Mayor Tory Whanau.
I feel a bit like I did when I was young and at a McDonalds playground and my movement got out of synch with the bouncy Grimace and my head rattled back and forth between two vertical bars for a few seconds. Bangbangbangbangbangbang.
Absolutely: 'nothing about us without us'. For too long, mediocre white males assumed they were capable of understanding and speaking and deciding for everyone in society, and they were clearly not, being invested (intentionally or not) in maintaining the patriarchal systems which kept people like them at the top and oppressed, deliberately or casually, everyone else, to varying degrees. Minority groups (even large ones like, say, women) had to fight for the vote, for equal rights, for equality, for consideration, for representation....and the fights continue.
As representation has become more diverse, there have been real benefits, real gains. There have had to be provisions and changes to enable those diverse people to be comfortable and able to be present and participating. Physically accessible buildings, interpreters, child care facilities and provisions (like spaces for breastfeeding on the premises that aren't toilets or broom cupboards), voice-to-text, text-to-voice, deterrent consequences for any other participants that use derogatory language in the workplace and much more. Some have been trivial to implement, some less so.
But
Bangbangbingbangbong
Is there a limit?
At some point, as with many jobs, you need to have certain personal attributes, to be successful in that position. Knowing a few ND people that struggle hugely with executive functioning, they'd be hard pressed to hold down any job (let alone one with so many balls in the air as running a city council). Just things like turning up on time, with the right stuff, in suitable clothing, is beyond them. Some accommodations can be made, sure, but there's a limit. I don't think that many employers that would be happy with someone consistently being 1.5-2h late because, using a very specific example, they couldn't find the "right" earrings. Others I know have developed various workarounds to manage their extra challenges, and they've done more than OK with those (though, since diagnosis, wonder how much better they could have done had they known earlier, and been able to access meds earlier). The level of disability with some neurodiversities is also diverse, and can be quite severe, so it will be a subset, the more capable among the ND, that can do well in politics, with understanding and a little bit of appropriately directed support. The articulate ones. The at least semi-organised ones. And they will hopefully be good at understanding, speaking for, and deciding things on behalf of those more severely affected - certainly they must be more capable than the stale pale males that formerly predominated.
[Aside that I can't figure out where to put: We don't elect children, and assume that adults are capable of understanding, speaking for and deciding things on behalf of this rather sizeable sector of society. Not sure NZ is doing so great at this so far.]
Thanks Emily for your insightful take on the Tory Whanau mayoralty.
I was an enthusiastic support of Tory when she first appeared on the local body radar. But somewhere along the way I started to have some doubts about her ability to do the job of Mayor. Looks like I fell for a well orchestrated media campaign by the usual suspects. When I saw the names of those who financed the propaganda I immediately knew that I had been conned.
Wont make that mistake again.
Go Tory. Give it your best.