Welcome to Neurodiversity NDUK Different Minds. Same Worth.

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If you've arrived here because you have ADHD, AuDHD, autism, dyslexia, dyspraxia, Tourette syndrome or another form of neurodivergence  or because you're trying to understand someone who does, you're in the right place.

This page isn't about labels. It's about understanding people. It's about recognising that sometimes a brain that works differently can make life more difficult but it can also bring strengths, creativity, determination, problem-solving and a completely different way of seeing the world.

A Personal Welcome from Dean Owen

I'm Dean Owen, Founder and CEO of No Duff UK CIC, No Duff UA (NGO), Hell Bess Whisky and a new release called Still Vertical.

I know what it feels like to be different. I left school without formal qualifications. Easily distracted, if something didn't interst me, I wasn't intersted and school wasn't for me, therefore I didn't follow the traditional route into education or employment. My career took me through the Army, the Prison Service and Merseyside Police, before I eventually founded No Duff UK CIC.

For much of my life, I simply thought I was wired differently. I was Medically Retired from Merseyside Police from an injury on duty and diagnosed with Complex Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, Adjustment Disorder, Depression. It wasn't until later in life that I was diagnosed with ADHD. That diagnosis didn't suddenly change who I was. But it helped me understand myself alot more and despite hating school every day is a school day learning about how my thoughts work.

Looking back, I could recognise things that had always been part of me the constant ideas, the restless mind, the ability to hyper-focus, the difficulty switching off and the tendency to become completely absorbed in solving a problem.

I found that there was another characteristic I had noticed throughout my working life:

I thrive in a crisis.

When things become chaotic, I tend to become more focused. When a problem appears, I want to find a solution. When plans change, I adapt and overcome.

That way of thinking has been useful throughout my time in the Army, prison service and policing and it has become particularly important in the work I now do through No Duff UK which has seen the organisation work in hostile enviroments such as Ukraine, although we do not advocate going to hostile envioroments.

From Crisis to Community

No Duff UK was founded in 2019 with a simple belief:

When someone needs help, we don't just tell them where to go. We rock up!

That philosophy has taken us into communities across the UK and into humanitarian work connected with Ukraine, supporting people affected by war and crisis.

Crisis situations rarely come with an instruction manual, things change, the plan is fluid and changes. People need urgent help

You have to think quickly, adapt and work out what can be done. For me, that ability to think differently has become something I can use to help others.

Why This Page Exists

For many people, discovering they are neurodivergent can be both a relief , a challenge or embarrassing. For me it was the same when I was diagnosed with CPTSD it was a relief that I am wired differently, my thought process is different than that of others.
From this page alone

• You may suddenly understand parts of your childhood.

• You may understand why school was difficult.

• Why certain jobs didn't work for you.

• Why your mind never seems to stop.

• Why you can concentrate for hours on something you love but struggle to focus on something that doesn't engage you.

• Why you can become overwhelmed.

• Why you can be incredibly capable in a crisis but struggle with everyday tasks.

• Or perhaps you're still trying to work it all out.

Whatever stage you're at, you are welcome here.

We want this section to provide understanding, information, practical support and signposting for neurodivergent people, their families and the organisations that support them.

You Are More Than a Diagnosis

• ADHD is not your identity.

• Autism is not your identity.

• Dyslexia is not your identity.

• A diagnosis can help explain how your brain works, but it does not define your potential.

• You are still you.

• Your experiences matter.

• Your strengths matter.

• Your challenges matter.

• And sometimes the things that have made life difficult can become the very things that make you exceptional in the right environment.

You don't have to fit somebody else's mould. You just need the opportunity to find where you fit.

 

If You're Struggling

You don't have to have all the answers before asking for help. If you're struggling with neurodivergence, mental health, work, relationships, isolation or simply trying to understand what's happening in your own head, talk to someone. You don't have to wait until everything falls apart. You don't have to face it alone. That's what No Duff UK has always believed. We have the lived exprience, we have all served in some capacity and thats what makes us successful at what we do.

We Watch.
We Listen.
We Act.

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Different minds. Different strengths. Same worth.

Dean Owen
Founder & CEO
No Duff UK CIC