02/11/2026
Some thought provoking materials to dive into
Repost by Jasper Jacobs via LinkedIn:
āInclusion isnāt just policy. It shows up in curiosity, patience, and daily practice.
After sharing last weekās post on invisible disabilities, a few comments stayed with meāand the conversations that followed have continued to deepen my thinking.
Dani Collier reminded us that brain fog impacts far more people than we often acknowledgeāthose with ME/CFS, peri- and menopause, long COVID, anxiety, depression, and moreāand that many organizations still struggle to recognize this reality.
Mind Body Clarityās Cecilia Salinas highlighted something equally important: engagement doesnāt look the same for everyone. The non-verbal cues weāre taught to rely on arenāt universalāand sometimes they lead us to the wrong conclusions.
Dr Shirley Woods-Gallagher shared a powerful truth: being openly autistic in a leadership role in public service matters. Representation matters. And at the same time, she named why so many people donāt feel safe disclosing their disabilities at work.
That point hit close to home.
For a time, I was involved with the Association of State Employees with Disabilities Board, and I still have conversations with the board around disability today. One thing that comes up again and again is this: many individuals with disabilities donāt feel comfortable sharing them. Physical limitations resulting from accidents are often unseen. Invisible. Carried quietly.
My ADHD, on the other hand, is very present. Over time, Iāve learned how to make it work for meāIāve turned it into a kind of superpower. But even superpowers need recalibration. I still need help refocusing at times, which happened recentlyāthanks in part to revisiting my friend MichĆØle C. Klineās Stretch book. Sometimes growth isnāt about learning something new; itās about being reminded of what we already know.
All of this has reinforced a few principles Iām trying to live by:
ā¢ Progress over perfection
ā¢ Policy should be practice
ā¢ Be curious, not judgmental (attribution asideāitās a damn good idea)
Curiosity about neurodiversity.
Curiosity about invisible physical limitations.
Curiosity about how people engage, process, and contribute differently.
Through my internship and professional work, Iāve learned that I canāt engage every person the same wayābecause each person brings a different nervous system, history, and way of making meaning. Maybe thatās shaped by ADHD. Maybe itās shaped by a life of adapting across environments and communities. Probably both.
What I know for sure is this:
Every one of us has strengths that our workplacesāand our public systemsāneed.
Inclusion isnāt about forcing sameness.
Itās about noticing, supporting, and helping those strengths emerge.
That starts by being in the room.
Listening longer.
And choosing curiosity over comfort.
Inclusion isnāt just policy.
Itās practiceāevery day.ā
