Spiky Profiles - have you heard of them?
(The words and opinions of this blog are that of the author and her experiences. This is not professional advice, and should not be used in lieu of that. )It’s a concept that has been around for awhile but is semi-known (depending on the industry). I heard about it last year and simultaneously loved it and wanted to adjust it. Spiky Profiles are a great way to have a visual representation of an individual’s strengths, hurdles, and areas that need support. I do see that the intention behind Spiky Profiles is to promote inclusivity rather than exclusivity as it can be used to emphasise strength based profiles.
Spiky profiles and strength based profiles support Neurodivergent individuals due to them being more likely to present skills highly in some areas, and lower in others. These profiles are called spiky because their “skill profile” looks “spiky” with peaks and valleys, rather than a consistent ‘middle ground’, I know a lot of this pertains to life skills but even so, to me (and I guess that Neurodivergent thinking) being consistently ‘average’ at everything makes me think of that saying ‘jack of all trades, master of none’.
It immediately has me asking, ‘who wants to be average at everything but good at nothing?’ Then immediately a second question enters: ‘Does anyone think this about life skills and trait expression, and does that saying apply to this scenario?’.
Spiky profiles are great WHEN we look at them through a strengths based lens, NOT focusing on the deficits. Using a profile to highlight areas of struggle then try to change the individual under stressful situations or ‘training’ to what YOU feel are skills of priority is rarely going to benefit anyone - especially the individual.
One of my ‘Spiky Valleys’ - Memory.
I don’t have a great memory, I continuously lose and forget things. Punishing me by making me ‘just be without’ will not and did not teach me a lesson. I don’t forget things because I am lazy, or because I don’t care, my short term memory and object permanence is terrible because I have ADHD. I have multiple thoughts happening simultaneously in my mind. Ideas (sooo many ideas), to dos, fear of of forgetting things & feeling like a failure, anxiety over what I may have forgotten - are just a snapshot of the continual inner monologue in my mind. Our mind can only hold so much at one time and mine is MAXXED OUT. I will organise myself by laying out everything I may need to take somewhere, or schedule a meeting I highly anticipate attending, only for it to be drowned out by all the other thoughts. Meeting missed. Objects left behind. Heart heavy. Disappointment high.
The thing is, punishment by reprimand or shaming doesn’t help me do better next time, it just makes me feel ‘less than’ and puts me into a self-deficit headspace. Having me suffer by going without, doesn’t burn the lesson into my brain, it just highlights my shortfalls to me. I have tried ALL MY LIFE to be better organised, to ‘just remember’ better, to look like I have it all together. I want that with all my heart as it looks like life is so much easier, but I have never been able to get there.
What I can do that is affirming? Set supports up in my life to help with these lapses in memory and organisation, like insurance for my own brain. Immediately putting phone reminders, verbalising to family or friends, attempting to carry a journal with me at all times, task delegation are all things that can SUPPORT me working over this hurdle of mine.
But no support is failsafe and is dependent on the dopamine it provides at the time, as when a support loses dopamine delivery then it loses effectiveness. One more thing a Spiky Profile can promote, is recognising and celebrating where my strengths do lie - maybe I have deficit in memory because ALL my brain power is used up in my lateral thinking and creativity, and theres nothing in this life I would give up those two things for. While celebrating strengths, taking the time to acknowledge and accept hurdles andthat its ok to not be good at absolutely everything.
So why do I hesitate using the term Spiky Profile?
I love the concept of Spiky Profile & remember that my blog doesn’t speak as a collective but as my inner personal thoughts, I just cannot connect with the word spiky. To me, synonyms for spiky are uncomfortable, painful, ‘thorn in the side’, burden… a lot of things I have grown up feeling about myself and my presence. It’s not a word that I think promotes RADICAL SELF LOVE, particularly for younger minds who are still learning about themselves.
But you know what else is spiky, but is a shape I (and I believe a lot of others) would love to be associated with? Stars. Imagine if I walked up to you and said, ‘wow, you are such a star’. You’re going to feel good about yourself - right?
To me, it’s perfect as a star still emphasises the peaks and troughs in our skill sets and traits. Like stars, every single one of us is unique as no two spectrums will be exactly identical, and what a positive shape to resonate with.
It is so important on this goal of having kids radically love themselves in every way to set up the language and self-identification in a positive mindset. A Spiky Profile can really help an individual see & celebrate their strengths, while also identifying areas they could implement some supports or strategies to reduce self-deprecating thoughts.
As much as I would love to say it is a neuroaffirming world we live in, the reality is it’s not. So I wonder, how will an individual feel having their personality / identity / self be regarded as spiky. Would that emphasise the sensation that they are made to feel uncomfortable and not quite a right fit? That they are uncomfortable to be around, that what makes them intrinsically them is a burden to others? I may be projecting here, as this is the connection and reflection I had on first learning the term Spiky Profile.
Starry Profiles are important for kids to learn about themselves.
I will start talking about this more and more on my socials, presentations, and in general life, like I said I love the concept of Spiky Profiles, I just feel it needs a small tweak for our younger audience. Our concept of self begins it’s permanence from age 7, a lot earlier than a lot of people may think.
My Personal Starry Profile
I am sharing with you on the left my personal Autistic Spectrum. This visual could be laid out like the image I shared above, with traits in a line showing peaks and troughs, or it can be presented like the image next to this text, circular and trait expression points making the shape of a STAR.
I look at my star and I smile, I like it’s shape - It truly feels like my own special star amd lets me appreciate the image as a whole - it represents me.
I don’t look at social difficulty and feel bad about not fitting in or that it’s incredibly different to others, but instead acknowledge this star is showing ME, the true me, the me exactly as I am.
These starry profiles can set paths of understanding from within and around the individual, where both the individual and their community can AVAIL themselves by;
Appreciating their unique strengths & skill sets.
Validating their hurdles and pain points.
Accommodating for the hurdles and frustrations with supports, therapy, etc.
Including them in the conversation of validation & accommodation, as well as in their skills & areas of expertise.
Learning from them on how to best do the above.
Why is it so important?
(TRIGGER WARNING: MENTION & STATISTICS OF SUICIDE IN THIS PARAGRAPH)
I want to share a quote with you that is well known in the ADHD community and is so important to reflect on. When I heard this quote for the first time, the way I intrinsically KNEW it was factually correct & didn’t need to see the cited source tells me this is potentially an underestimate.
“By the age of 10, kids with ADHD receive 20,000 more negative messages and critiques than kids without ADHD. Over the course of 10 years, that’s more than 5 negative comments PER DAY MORE than their peers.”
This continual (intentional or not) berating really helps promote deficit based mindsets causing kids to view themselves as fundamentally different from a flawed perspective. They are not like other people, and not in the good or ‘simply and factually’ way, and we’re not even take into account the potential increased emotional intensity due to the sensation of RSD (Rejection Sensitive Dysphoria).
It brings a heavy reality that the average age of an Autistic person is 35, and that an Autistic person is 9 times more likely to commit suicide than a Neurotypical person [1][2][3].
ADHDers make up approximately 25% of the UK population receiving support for alcohol/substance abuse [4].
Dyslexics are considered to be 4 times more likely to commit suicide or acts of self harm [5].
These statistics are startling, frightening, and a reality that NEEDS to be talked about. My last burnout made the average Autistic age really hit home hard, it is such a defeating feeling to know that you’ll never truly fit into society as a whole, and that you will forever be battling against the world you live in (I am ok now and am finally out of my really, REALLY bad burnout).
These Neurodivergent identities are a part of who these kids are, it’s not an ‘add on’ or an ‘after effect’, but part of their core being. They can’t change themselves and they shouldn’t have to or feel bad about not being able to either. Most of the disabling elements are from environmental impact - that CAN be changed, adjusted, or supports put in place to lessen the impact intensity.
So that’s why.
It’s so important to support kids in radically loving themselves, looking through Neuroaffirming lens, celebrate their strengths while acknowledging and supporting hurdles. Remember, as a society we need to AVAIL ourselves to Neuordiversity - Appreciate, Validate, Accomodate, Include, & Learn from our Neurodivergent community.
[1] Hirvikoski, T. et al., (2016) Premature mortality in autism spectrum disorder.
[2] Newell, V. et al., (2023) A systematic review and meta-analysis of suicidality in autistic and possibly autistic people without co-occurring intellectual disability.
[3] Kirby et al., (2024) Are autistic females at greater risk of suicide? A call for clarity to advance suicide prevention for the whole community.
[4] Kalbag, A & Levin, F., (2009) Adult ADHD and Substance Abuse: Diagnostic and Treatment Issues
[5] https://abcnews.go.com/Health/story?id=116932&page=1
