Bit of a soul baring exerciseā¦
Iām in my 50s - for those of you on here who have met me - Iām confident that youāll say that I donāt act itā¦
The past few years have been a very steep learning curve while I come to terms with Neurodivergence.
In my case strongly ADHD - with some Autism (but still waiting for an adult diagnosis for confirmation).
ā¦which came as quite a shock to me, as Iād always assumed I was very Neuro-typical.
Based on my own experience, I would say that as a whole, RAFAC has the potential to be a superb organisation for supporting individuals with ND.
At the outset - RAFAC is a group, or team environment for āpeople that donāt do teamsā.
To start with, itās a place where individuals WANT to be voluntarily - as opposed school / work, where thereās a requirement to be - regardless of how youāre feeling / coping.
Itās a niche group - with further niche sub-groups for training / participating such as Drill, Shooting, Aircraft Recognition, Model Making, Cyber, Radio, Road Marching etc etc⦠meaning an individual can more or less tailor their participation to their own interests and abilities.
Individuals tend to be supported and encouraged as appropriate, with all aspects through a genuine understanding by their peers and those closest.
Sometimes this comes about because there has been a conversation between those involved and the Squadron staff - sometimes, itās because thereās an unspoken recognition.
The reality is, there is VERY little formal advice from HQAC - not least because Neurodivergence is such an incredibly broad church.
Itās estimated that 1:4 students are on the spectrum and 1:5 adults in the workplace - BUT experts widely acknowledge that these figures are almost certainly a major underestimation.
But if we are being honest with ourselves - I think it is fair today that the prevalence of ND staff AND cadets across the entire corps is a lot higher.
Itās not a stigma - itās not a deficit - itās just about being wired differently.
Clear case in point is for many of us who look at the bonkers requirements many standing orders come with - with my ADHD hat on, Iām thinking āwhy on earth are we doing THISā¦?ā Only to be told ābecause is says soā¦ā
Case in point - my favourite āan aerial photograph is required of the nearest hospital is required in the EASPāā¦
Until such time as helicopters can be booked via white fleet, to enable CFAVs to conduct their own Cas-Evac flights⦠providing W3W, Postcode and a streetmap SHOULD be more than enoughā¦
ā¦but apparently not in my former Wingā¦
Ho hum!