The Community for Highly Gifted and Neurodiverse-Gifted people seeking understanding and an exchange of ideas on equal footing, respectfully and without censorship.
My interest in neurodiversity, i.e. in characteristics such as giftedness, high creativity, high sensitivity, Asperger's/autism or synesthesia, began during my studies in psychology. At one point I had the opportunity to participate in a study with an IQ test and, lo and behold, it confirmed the numeric value I darkly remembered from some time in elementary school. The result explained so much for me and my life experience!
My first IQ test, which used to be administered to all children in elementary school, landed in a drawer somewhere. No one paid any extra attention to me, to this high IQ score, nor to the increasing withdrawal I went through due to boredom, feelings of being different, and suffering from not being understood. I had never “learned to learn.” Financial resources were scarce. Encouraging me or rallying me on were not options. I didn't trust myself to attain the highest level of German high-school diploma, so I left high school/gymnasium after the 10th grade and did an apprenticeship as an industrial clerk. This was sheer hell, because apart from making coffee, copying, and filing in the smoky basement office, not much happened there. It was a long and often rocky road until I got my college degree, my doctorate, my license to practice medicine, and successful self-employment. But it was worth it and ultimately resulted in a great quality of life.
After graduating with a degree in psychology, I knew that I wanted to help other people recognize their own strengths and change their circumstances so that they would be happy both professionally and personally. From my own experience, I knew that changing one’s own circumstances is possible if one seriously wants it and is willing to really do something about it!
In 2018, I founded the Clever People UG.
As of 2019, I’m proud to say that a triple-digit number of great and special people from Germany, Austria, and Switzerland are already registered on Clever People and the community is growing slowly but steadily.
In 2019, the Clever People UG was nominated for 1st place in the GründerCup of the Kiel Region (northern Germany). Every year, the GründerCup awards select start-up concepts for innovative pluck, sustainability, founder personality, business model viability, contribution to society, and development potential. This distinction from an experienced jury is therefore a true mark of quality for Clever People and very much motivates me to continue.
2020 brought a lot of changes - and overall these changes were very positive and gratifying for me.
In 2021, Clever People UG in Kiel therefore became Clever People GmbH, based in Switzerland.
At Clever People, neurodiversity is not seen as a problem, but as an enrichment, and endearing personality trait that contains many strengths. At Clever People, you as a highly gifted or neurodiverse person and multifaceted personality stand in the foreground. The Clever People community is so special because here you’ll find what you’ve been seeking for a long time: acceptance, connection, appreciation, and belonging.
So I cordially invite you to get on board with this extraordinary community and exchange ideas with like-minded people on equal footing—appreciatively and without censorship of content.
Many clever people are already looking forward to meeting you!
Dr. Karin Joder