President's Perspective - Spring 2026

By Tracey Takeuchi on Wednesday, April 1, 2026

Spring happens suddenly. As I write this message today, in March, it’s already 85°F – hardly spring conditions when just days ago the snow in Donner Pass, near Truckee, was treacherous and deep. In Lake Tahoe several people were caught in a fatal avalanche. Our diverse weather is much like our diverse chapter. We are represented by those from industry in various ways-from practice to application, working in the trees, around the trees. We work with people as much as we work with trees. It’s sometimes a challenge to see people in their truth; like trees, that is a strength that sometimes only comes with growth and experience.

I planned to write a lengthy article on an area of diversity among the people within the arboriculture industry that is gaining attention in science – Neurodivergent (ND) verses Neurotypical (NT) individuals – and how they relate to the world, their work, and how understanding the neurotype differences can benefit the arboriculture industry. I identify as ND because I am a late diagnosed, Autistic Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder impacted person (AuDHD). I sure wish I had understood this about myself younger, sooner, earlier.

I learned recently that a colleague, well known in the arboriculture community, and whom I admire, had committed the most final act of self-determination possible in this life. All of us, aware or not, know someone that has taken their own life or know someone at risk for this final act. It reminds me that we can never fully know what another’s experience in life is or how they will react to their life and life’s stresses—and let’s face it, life is hard. The Buddha said, “All life is suffering.” We each have our own ways of approaching life, and judgement isn’t helpful. Pollyanna-like statements such as “this too shall pass,” “count your blessings,” and “seek joy” are not always helpful. What is helpful is understanding, as best we each can and as our life experiences and willingness to listen, allow.

Why do I bring this challenging topic into a message from the President’s desk? Some will ask, “What does this have to do with trees?” Bear with me. Most do not know that this beloved colleague died by their own choice. Why? Why don’t we know? Taking one’s own life is still stigmatized. Mental health remains a difficult topic with some having strong views that a person can “pull themselves up by the boot-straps.” Willpower doesn’t always overcome biology. When a tree is planted into a site that’s deficient in an essential nutrient, those who understand the basic science know that we must DO something to correct the situation. Mental health is similar. Wishing that a person will be better, happier, or more grateful doesn’t alter the chemistry in their brain and body, nor does it alter the environmental pressures that contribute to the mental health issue that a person struggles with.

 I wrote the article that I intended to submit for publication on NDs in the arboriculture industry following publication of an article in the Journal of Arboriculture discussing “Barriers to Advancement in the Arboriculture Industry.” This article was widely acclaimed and led to the author’s speaking on that topic in New Zealand at the 2025 ISA meeting. The article spoke to intrinsic and extrinsic barriers – those barriers that exist within and without. Barriers can include time management, scheduling time to study, etc. The article was great…if you are Neurotypical. If you happen to be Neurodivergent, the article may have landed differently.

I wrote my article for the Western Arborist. Well, most of it. Then, during a meeting I was reminded that people engage better with non-technical, welcoming language. That’s not how I write. While the reminder meant well, what I, as an ND heard, was “Your writing isn’t good enough” and “Your writing is bad.” Which translates into “You are bad.” The several pages of writing got scrapped for a new article. Yep, I rewrote the entire thing. Three times. And there it sits, unsubmitted.

Neurodivergent people are disproportionately represented in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) careers, including arboriculture. Medical terms and conditions vary but include Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), Autism, Dyscalculia, and Dyslexia. As science understands these neuro-differences, it becomes increasingly clear that these differences can occur together and in various ways and intensities. When you’ve met one autistic person, you’ve met one autistic person – a reminder that we do not all look alike or act alike. A friend said to me, “everyone is a little Neurodivergent.” Yes and no:

  • Yes, if we treat everyone as IF they are ND, then we are open to their differences and possibly sensitive to them as well.
  • No, not everyone is ND.

Research has shown that the ND brain is biochemically different, and therefore functions differently. We must be careful not to use “everyone is a little ND” to disregard the lived experience and discrimination that NDs experience. Being sensitive to differences is good. Dismissing them is not.

Take Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) as an example. It is not, as most think, an inability to maintain focus, but rather it is the inability to apply attention in a weighted manner to various focal items. All issues receive the same amount of attention – including the lights buzzing in the office, the cold draft coming in through a window, the hard floor on the feet, the sound of the person opening their snack in the next cubicle, the grain of sand in your shoe, the message that is being drafted for the magazine that was due in January. For many NDs, particularly those with either ADHD or Autism (or both – AuDHD) there is a now/not now or here/not here condition. If an issue isn’t pressing enough (here) then it is not here. All of the competing stimuli are executive functions, each of which require energy. Separating internal and external stimuli (thoughts, responsibilities, deadlines, sounds, smells, feels) all require energy. The Neurotypicals (NTs) easily separate these issues, tracking or organizing them with seeming ease. The way the NTs function is more automatic, thus requiring less energy. NDs are constantly thinking about their schedule, the steps required to achieve that schedule, what’s next, and what’s coming to attempt to remain organized. Replaying conversations repeatedly before and after delivery (for weeks or months) is common among NDs. When something is lost it transfers to the state of “not now” and “not here,” just like this President’s message that was due to the editor in January. Oops. It fell off my calendar to “not now, not here.”

The journal article about the intrinsic/extrinsic barriers to advancement never once spoke to the reality that this industry is over-represented by people who are not motivated in the same way as NTs. They are running five or more programs in their head simultaneously; they run out of executive function energy leading to dysregulation. Dysregulation looks different in different situations:

  • losing words,
  • losing patience,
  • becoming frustrated during information acquisition,
  • shutting down when someone says, “why are you being so aggressive,”
  • exhibiting self-regulating/self-distracting behaviors (stimming, discussed below),
  • having an RSD moment (Rejection Sensitivity Dysphoria) which is similar to a flashback in PTSD, and
  • ·needing time to recover from socializing.

The “normal” work day is depleting.

I am not an expert in the field of Neurodiversity, and it is complex. I can throw terms and ideas around that you might resonate with. I hope that it will lead you to investigate Neurodiversity more fully and that you read the article I have planned with a more detailed treatment of this topic. For now, let me provide a few characteristics of Neurodiversity that may inspire you to investigate more fully.

  • Being ND is dominantly genetic in origin.
  • By the time an ND child reaches the age of 14 they have been subjected to 20,000 more negative personal characterizations than a NT child.
  • Being ND is inherently traumatizing.
  • NDs have an excessively developed sense of justice.
  • NDs often have a heightened sense of pattern recognition and exhibit out-of-the-box thinking.
  • Approximately 20% of the total population is ND.
  • NDs use stimming behaviors to help maintain focus. Stimming includes hand rubbing, foot tapping, standing up in meetings, tapping pens, body rocking, etc. It is socially discouraged in both boys and girls, despite it being beneficial to them.
  • Women are often undiagnosed or late diagnosed due to masking of their traits (be quiet, sit still) and often stim to a greater degree than men/boys.
  • Socialization is difficult.
  • Most NDs do not internalize socially-learnedrules. Implied rules and imprecise language are confounding.
  • Most NDs process information “bottom up,” whereas NTs process information “top down.” Asking clarifying questions is a hallmark of NDs, sometimes referred to as “being in the weeds.” NDs are often accused of being confrontational. They ask questions until they are satisfied that they understand the issue – then they can make a decision.
  • Women are impacted differently than men. Sex hormones are precursors to the production of brain neurotransmitters that support cognition. Fluctuations in hormones, which occur more dramatically in women, impact executive function. The rate of suicide among women is highest during and post-menopause (ages 45-64).
  • The LGBTQ+ community has a higher rate of ND identification than the general population.
  • The strengths of NDs align with the study of STEM disciplines.
  • Once executive function energy is depleted, it is gone until it is recharged. This is not a moral failing or issue: it is biology. NTs have more executive function energy in their pre-frontal cortex because they do not have a series of focal issues competing for that energy.
  • Mental health issues including anxiety, depression, and suicidal ideation are higher among NDs than NTs.
  • Suicide rate is substantially higher among NDs than NTs and is disproportionately represented across the green industry, although data specifically for arboriculture is not collected separately. (STEM-approx. 33% of all suicides, men with a three-times higher rate than women).
  • Higher rates of substance abuse. One in five people with substance use disorder (SUD) have been diagnosed with ADHD. Other research has suggested that 50% of adults who have ADHD meet the criteria for SUD.
  • Job retention is lower among NDs. Job loss is typically unrelated to the quality of their work. Instead, job loss is often related to executive function fatigue, energy depletion and scapegoating. Scapegoating is a form of othering, targeting those that think and/or process information differently.
  • NDs are typically well educated, having higher intelligence levels than the general population, and are often gifted in pattern identification.
  • NDs are typically challenged by organization, repetition, and sudden changes in routine.

As you might begin to see, intrinsic and extrinsic barriers to advancement impact NDs differently than NTs. Throughout the day, when a person has been struggling to process the numerous daily sensory inputs, mental energy is depleted until there’s nothing left. For NDs it’s not as simple as setting aside an hour to study – it’s whether the NDs have any energy left to set aside and to draw from. For the ND, advancement may be much more complicated than setting aside the time.

When does your brain work best? How does your brain work best? These are questions that you might ask of yourself. Does your brain work best in the morning when the world is quiet? Do you need to have a “soft slide” into activity (activating brain energy), where several low impact tasks are accomplished in a series of smaller actions leading to that “hard slide?” Do you need sound (music, for example) that helps keep your focus on the topic? Do you need to speak out loud to yourself? Many NDs process information orally – they “talk to think.” Many also require hyper-focused time – an uninterrupted block of time where they are immersed in a topic. Finally, many NDs need to feel or see whatever it is they are studying to commit it to memory. One of my students would use a stuffed animal as a model of insect anatomy they were studying. By moving the stuffed animal around, feeling it, as they memorized parts of the insect, they could recreate that visual in their mind. By allowing that student to handle their stuffed animal during exams, turning it in their hands and visualizing the parts in their mind, they were able to successfully recall the information for their exam. These last methods of internalizing information are not well received or understood in social or educational settings—which can be a barrier to advancement for the NDs.

The challenge of functioning seamlessly in a Neurotypical world contributes to ND mental health issues including, as previously stated, a higher degree of anxiety, depression, and ultimately suicidal behavior. Because arboriculture and other STEM careers are disproportionately represented by NDs, it is imperative that we understand what Neurodivergence is and to help those in the industry better understand the benefits and challenges of being ND. This means employing and supporting people that are ND and monitoring our friends and colleagues for indicators of risky behavior that could lead them to choose that last and final act of self-determination. Information is key. Compassion is necessary. Hugs are optional.

 

~Tracey

Tracey Takeuchi

President 2025-2026