What is neurodivergence?
Neurodivergent brains learn, process, and communicate differently
Neurodivergence describes natural differences in how brains learn, process information, and communicate. It includes neurotypes and learning differences like ADHD, autism, and dyslexia, often bringing real strengths, alongside real friction in school, work, relationships, and daily life.
This page explains how neurodivergent profiles often intersect with emotion skills: emotional awareness (alexithymia), emotion regulation, empathy, and executive functioning. It also explains why supportive, multimodal learning tools can help.
Note from the founder
I grew up with strong traits of ADHD and autism, including executive dysfunction and alexithymia (difficulty identifying and describing emotions). For a long time, I thought my struggles were personal failures.
The turning point was realizing this wasn’t a character flaw. It was a skills gap: emotion skills that can be learned with the right supports.
I built Feelpath to make emotion skills easier to learn for neurodivergent people like myself: clearer language, visual tools, and gentle feedback that helps progress stick between sessions and between real-life moments.
Nick Venturino
Founder, Feelpath
Different learning styles need different supports
Many neurodivergent people need more than talk to integrate change. Feelpath adds visual, interactive tools that support practice, make sessions easier to revisit, and help new skills generalize into daily life.
A practical takeaway
If something isn’t sticking, it may not be motivation; it may be a mismatch between the support and the learning style.
Neurodivergences & Emotion Skills
Emotions show up differently across people and neurotypes. This table highlights a few commonly reported patterns.
| Profile | AlexithymiaEmotional awareness | RegulationEmotion regulation | EmpathyPerspective-taking | ExecutiveFunctioning |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ADHD | ◐ | ● | ◐ | ● |
| Autism (ASD) | ● | ● | ◐ | ◐ |
| AuDHD | ● | ● | ◐ | ● |
| CEN* | ● | ● | ◐ | ◐ |
| HSP* | ◐ | ◐ | ● | ◐ |
| Trauma / CPTSD | ● | ● | ◐ | ◐ |
| Anxiety / Depression & Perfectionism | ◐ | ● | ◐ | ◐ |
Research references
Selected peer-reviewed sources supporting the main patterns summarized in this table.
- Kinnaird, Stewart, & Tchanturia (2019): Investigating alexithymia in autism: A systematic review and meta-analysis
- McDonald et al. (2024): Emotion dysregulation in autism: A meta-analysis
- Song et al. (2019): Empathy impairment in autism spectrum conditions from a multidimensional perspective: A meta-analysis
- Milton (2012): On the ontological status of autism: The “double empathy problem”
- Crompton et al. (2020): Neurotype-matching (not autistic status) influences ratings of interpersonal rapport
- Beheshti et al. (2020): Emotion dysregulation in adults with ADHD: a meta-analysis
- Edwards (2022): Posttraumatic stress and alexithymia: A meta-analysis of presentation and severity
- Khan & Jaffee (2022): Alexithymia in individuals maltreated as children and adolescents: a meta-analysis
- Somerville et al. (2024): Emotion controllability beliefs and young people’s anxiety and depression: A systematic review
- Acevedo et al. (2018): Sensory processing sensitivity brain circuits review
* CEN (Childhood Emotional Neglect) is an experience; HSP (Highly Sensitive Person) is a temperament trait. They’re included because support needs often overlap with neurodivergent profiles.
Want a calm, supportive place to build these skills?
We can help you strengthen emotional awareness and regulation without making your life feel like homework.