What does 'neurodiversity' even mean?

There's confusion online. Has neurodiversity lost all meaning? What even is a "neurotypical"? Aren't we all a little "neurodivergent"? And is the "neurodiversity movement" romanticizing debilitating conditions?

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Talking about what I mean when I use the terms, "Neurodiversity", "neurodivergent" & "neurotypical" - discussing what these words mean as well as the usefulness of vague concepts.

These can be confusing words if you're new to this space, and I believe that we should have patience for people who use words like neurodivergent wrong. However, I have little patience for people who say "this word has lost all meaning" when really, they just don't really understand it.

[Ember_Green]

PLEASE READ BEFORE COMMENTING: On the point about wheelchair ramps: I am saying that nobody would get mad at someone who can walk for using a RAMP. As in, for example, an elderly person taking the ramp instead of stairs. A couple of people understood this as me saying "wheelchair users who can sometimes walk do not face judgement" - which I categorically did not & would never say.

Also, I meant to out this in the video...we use the term "diverse" when talking about many people/brains, not just one. A person can't be neurodiverse. A room full of people can.

Bonus internet points if you spot the typo!

[Flamester]

I love being labeled as "High Functioning" then being told "You are smart, you shouldnt have these problems." It feels so condescending.

[tacobell]

Neurodivergent is to ADHD and autism, as rectangle is to square. They are merely particular subsets of neurodivergence.

[Stargirl]

I remember being ten years old and being scrutinized for hours with evaluations on my psyche and "IQ" tests and one doctor said "she's way too smart to be acting this stupid." And being labelled as "high functioning" but also condescended and given little agency because I was a "problem child."

And then being taken to do the same test at 12 under a lot of stress from being molested and the resulting PTSD and during that period being administered the same test and getting a "low IQ." And then being condescended to because they thought I had no potential.

I became obsessed with being "intelligent" in the traditional sense but was always faced with executive overload when trying to do logic puzzles in a strict time limit.

And at the same time I was told by my uncle with a "severely" autistic son that I was a genius after debating whether meaning in inherent or subjective with my dad and rogorously defending my argument.

So all this really left me confused. On top of being on the spectrum I have ADHD, generalized anxiety, and PTSD, all of which obviously combines to make school and work extremely difficult.

The world was really not made for us nuerodivergent people and I feel like the main disability I experience at least is from the outside world.

With all my experiences I think that only neurodivergent people should be able to do psychology on neurodivergent people. Because there's no way in hell any neutotypical psychologist will ever truly understand what it's like to be neurodivergent.

[austensg]

Sent this to my boss. We found a "neurodiversity training" video that said "neurodivergent is a bad word, actually, " and also said "neurodiversity doesn't equal mental illness, " like, WHAT?!? Some of the video is fine, but WHAT? That might be a fun reaction video for you, actually, lmk if you want the download.

[cindy]

Thank you for acknowledging that there is a muddy gray area between ND and NT! I've seen a lot discourse online where people will say these absolutist statements about how "all ND people communicate like this" or "all NT people do this" and it ignores that some people may not fit neatly into either category for whatever reason. Not to mention how communication styles or habits vary across culture. Someone who repeats the words that someone else says in a conversation in English may be suspected of having echolalia but in Japanese that person is an active listener.

[deviatedspectrum]

This is brilliant, Mica. Thanks for the reminder (which I needed) that neurodivergence covers much more than ADHD and Autism. Your presentation is so clear and logical. Thank you!

[DrAnarchy]

But, but, but, but if complex things are complex then how can I oppress people based on simple and wrong ideas?

[harrietwindebank]

Oh yes, the two boxes. For me it’s more like “you don’t need help you just need to try harder and stop complaining” and “its far too difficult or complicated to help you”. These boxes are right next to each other and there is no in between.

[MosesSuppose]

I came for the insightful analysis on a topic that I struggle to articulate properly to others. But I’m staying for Boba. I would put my life on the line for Boba.

[rudetuesday]

Thank you for talking about this. I've dealt with migraines my entire life, and also get other types of headaches. This sort of pain figures heavily into how I navigate life in multiple ways. I've only encountered very limited environments in which migraine is characterized as a neurologic disorder.

[MainelyMandy]

I really appreciated the point about not using "neurodivergent" to just mean those with adhd and autism as that very much is why I didn't use neurodivergent to describe myself for a long time. I thought it would be appropriative even though I related to many of the memes and found myself questioning just how typical my brain was. Thank you for making this, Mica!

[ScipiPurr]

I'm really happy you made the clarification that neurodivergent isn't, and shouldn't be, just a shorthand for ADHD/Autism. It's a really big problem with a lot of creators and health resources where I'll see stuff I'm really interested in seeing like "how to deal with relationships when neurodivergent" but the video only talks about autistic relationship dynamics. Even mental health and advocacy programs I've seen only limit themselves to the AuDHD wombo-combo behind the scenes. I have a schizophrenia-spectrum condition and it's really disheartening when all the audible discourse out there on neurodivergence doesn't even seem to recognize my existence. It's even more so when I've seen people try and explicitly exclude schizo disorders (and others) for rather BS reasons like claims it's "not a neurodevelopmental condition" or "it starts in late adolescence and not childhood" or even "it doesn't have intrinsic benefits/advantages". Not only are all these claims completely false of schizophrenia in particular, they're all really rather arbitrary for a movement focused on systemic barriers for those whose minds do not fall within a normative range. Neurodevelopmental conditions simply don't have a monopoly on that

[PrettyTranslatorSarahMoon]

I usually go with "neurodivergent" to describe myself because I A. don't have an official diagnosis, and B. suspect I might be audhd and possibly something else and I don't want to outrule that when I describe myself.

[Emilio]

I think "let the chaos commence" could be a catchphrase around these parts.

[ryn]

Apparently psych students are being taught that 'neurodivergent' means 'someone whose brain developed differently from the norm in a way that's physically observable in brain scans', so they'd count autism and epilepsy, but not trauma, depression or DID.

Personally, I think it's absolutely dystopian for the field of psychology to appropriate and twist a term that was created specifically in opposition to the medicalization they subjected us to. Honestly it's recuperation at its finest.

[frazkintsukuroi]

" Vague does not mean meaningless" - I had to restrain myself from applauding that statement.

Also yes, give me all the essays and reactions and stuff - your videos are solid and you are a reliable and representative voice of a community that I know fairly little about, and consistently teach me nuances that I previously was not aware of. So: thanks!

[silversamantha]

Yay new Ponderful video!

Also I am Boba's shocked disbelief at the words "There's confusion online."

[rachellerobinson]

Thank you for this! I'm still in the process of learning how to talk about my disabilities. The two types thinking: "real disabilities" and "faking" has left me with a lot of concern about taking up space that's not "for me". But videos like yours are so helpful in teaching me to re-frame and remember that accommodations, adjustments, things that I need don't need to hit some threshold to make me real. I am looking forward to your reaction video!

[godisdead]

Thank you so much for this! 😭 both ND and NT people police this word so much and hearing you declare out loud how it's a "simple term" thats supposed to be broad is so refreshing. My siblings and I were "high functioning" enough and seemed neurotypical enough to fall through the cracks of public school, with 3/4 of us failing a grade in high school. Being labeled as lazy instead of simply needing more help than other kids.😔 I was in denial for years but because of the neurodiversity movement and my problems becoming more apparent than ever, I'm finally taking steps to get the help I've needed since middle school. I think a lot of us immediately have imposter syndrome if we don't have a very obvious diagnosis and i think this video would be astronomically helpful for anyone in that boat! Again, thank you