6 Reflections on Moss (yes moss), Neurodivergence, and the Power of Disability

Aug 15

Rethinking worth, celebrating difference, and creating space for every kind of mind.

by Dr. Victoria Ranade

Recently, I discovered a handmade indie zine I absolutely love. It's called In Praise of Moss: An Argument for Sustainable Disability Positivity by Dr. Kathryn Hemmann, who herself lives with a disability. What makes it stand out is its positive approach to disability as an essential and valuable part of human diversity.

I encourage you to read it (the link is at the end of the article)—not only if you or a loved one is affected by disability, but also if you’re a manager, leader, friend, family member, or active member of your community. Here are five reflections I had after reading it:

1. Disability affects all of us

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) recognizes conditions such as ADHD, Autism Spectrum Disorder, and Major Depressive Disorder — but disability can also emerge through aging, illness, or injury. Sooner or later, every one of us — or someone we love — will encounter some form of disability.

In my work as a clinical psychologist, I’ve had the profound privilege of walking alongside individuals and families navigating life with disability. Some were children who, through illness or injury, lost the ability to walk, speak, or move; others were parents learning how to care for a child with a rare genetic condition, or teens and adults rebuilding their sense of self after a traumatic brain injury or chronic illness. I’ve also sat with many who live with ADHD, and those whose depression runs so deep it becomes a daily struggle just to move through the hours, to function, to stay alive.

I enjoyed reading this zine because it affirms what so many of my clients have shown me: disability is not simply an obstacle to be “overcome.” It can be a portal — an invitation to live differently. Disability can draw forth a strength you didn’t know was yours — a strength braided with your gift, with your unique way of being in the world. Often, it is through the challenges that your deepest offering comes to life.

2. The vital role of neurodivergence

In Praise of Moss insists that people with disabilities aren’t just overlooked or undervalued — we are vital to society, just as moss is essential to a forest ecosystem. This truth also applies to neurodivergence. Neurodivergence refers to natural variations in how people think, learn, and experience the world — such as autism, ADHD, dyslexia, and other differences in brain functioning. For many, these differences qualify as disabilities under the ADA, because they can make it harder to navigate a world designed for more typical ways of thinking and processing.

Neurodivergence is essential to a healthy society. We need people who think, feel, and experience life differently, because intelligence is far greater than any one of us. When minds that perceive and process the world in diverse ways come together, they create a collective intelligence that is deeper, wiser, and more powerful than any single individual could ever be. This shared intelligence is not just valuable; it is the lifeblood of a thriving society.

Many of history’s greatest minds were likely neurodivergent. Albert Einstein, Nikola Tesla, and Leonardo da Vinci are thought to have shown traits of autism or ADHD. Agatha Christie and Winston Churchill struggled with dyslexia. Vincent van Gogh and Ludwig van Beethoven may have lived with bipolar disorder. Their differences in thinking and perception weren’t obstacles to their genius; instead, they were part of it.

3. Challenging Capitalist Measures of Worth

The zine also explores how a capitalist society tends to value people primarily for their productivity. In that framework, people with disabilities are often valued less.

But productivity is only one kind of value — and not the most important. In Praise of Moss uses the forest as a reminder: not everyone can be the tallest tree. Moss may not have most noticeable or loudest role in the forest, but it plays an irreplaceable role. Diversity of form and function is what makes an ecosystem, and a society, strong. It’s essential to challenge the idea that a person’s worth is measured solely by output. It sounds obvious when spoken aloud, yet so many struggle with feeling “less than” when their workplace, community, or culture tells them they matter less because they produce less or earn less. It is up to us to remind one another that our worth is not earned — it is inherent. Each of us is a beautiful and vital thread in the fabric of life.

4. Don't Change Yourself to Fit the World, Change the World to Fit You

One of my favorite theories as a child psychologist is the Differential Susceptibility Hypothesis, which provides a transformative way to think about disability.

It proposes that some children are like dandelions and can thrive almost anywhere, while others are like orchids and are highly sensitive to their surroundings. For example, a sensitive “orchid” child in a harsh environment may struggle, but in a nurturing one, they can flourish spectacularly. Thus, children differ in their sensitivity to their environments, which in turn affects their developmental outcomes. Adults are the same way. Your environment affects how you develop and grow. In some environments, you might wither, whereas in others you might thrive.

Disability works the same way. In some contexts, it may present significant challenges; in others, strengths may be supported to emerge. A gifted, neurodivergent child in a rigid, highly structured classroom might go unnoticed, but in a more flexible setting that allows self-direction, that same child’s talents could fully bloom. A supportive setting can bring out our best traits, while a poor one can magnify our struggles. Our environments profoundly shape who we become.

This is what fascinates me about disability: when you adapt the environment, you can change the story and experience of the individual. That shift can transform not only how a person functions, but how they see themselves — turning what has been labeled a limitation into a genuine source of strength.

5. Celebrating neurodiversity

We all have a place in the forest. Whether we are trees, moss, orchids, or dandelions, our collective health depends on each of us being fully ourselves. When we embrace our natural neurodivergence and create environments that allow our strengths to thrive, the whole ecosystem of life grows stronger.

If you’d like to help promote this ecosystem and turn it into real-world action, consider trying out the following:

Notice and value each person’s innate strengths and unique ways of thinking and problem-solving — at work, in your community, and within your family.
Look for the strengths first. Every person has them. Then ask yourself, “What kind of environment or context would let those strengths flourish?” and take steps to create it.

This responsibility belongs not only to parents, but to leaders, managers, and all of us who shape the spaces where people live and work. People grow in the light of how they are seen.

In the end, In Praise of Moss reminds me why I fell in love with zines — they create space for marginalized voices the world might otherwise never hear. Moss may not tower over the forest, but it softens, nourishes, and sustains it, adding beauty and contrast. Neurodivergent people, in all our diverse ways of thinking and being, bring the same to the world — when that possibility is recognized, honored, and allowed to flourish. Each of us has a role in creating space for this diversity to thrive, and in doing so, we strengthen the natural, collective intelligence that sustains us all.

If you are interested in checking out the zine, In Praise of Moss: An Argument for Sustainable Disability Positivity by Dr. Kathryn Hemmann, you can find it here at this link! We received permission from the author Dr. Kathryn Hemmann to share it with you! Thank you for reading and being a part of our community!