Neurodiversity: Divine or Just Different?

When I first began learning about neurodiversity by name (around 2010), I came to it through science and psychology. Developmental theories like psychosocial, behavioral, and psychodynamic perspectives offered a way to understand why people think, process, and relate differently. Each framework held some truth, and each served as a mirror for understanding the mind.

Over time, though, I found myself asking a deeper question.
If all this variation in how we learn and lead and connect is measurable, could it also be meaningful?

During the past decade, I’ve shifted my focus from deficit-based models toward frameworks that celebrate strengths. Tools like StrengthsFinder, MBTI, the Highlands Ability Battery, and the Birkman Method helped me name what I bring to the table and appreciate what others bring as well. They showed me that difference is not just real—it’s valuable.

And then faith entered the conversation.

Faith gave words to what those tools could only approximate. Where they named tendencies, Scripture described design. Where they mapped wiring, faith revealed intention.

“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.” Jeremiah 1:5 (NIV)

It’s one thing to identify your strengths or preferences. It’s another to believe they are not random.

Seeing others through both lenses—data and design—has reshaped how I think about human difference. Neurodiversity isn’t simply about cognitive function. It’s about being human in the full spectrum of how God imagined humanity could be.

So, is neurodiversity divine or just different?
Maybe both.

Different in function.
Divine in origin.

If you missed it, my previous reflection, “Neurodiversity & Faith: Different by Design,” dives deeper into how faith and science can work together to help us see the beauty in how we’re wired.

What helps you understand how you’re designed—faith, frameworks, or both?