What Exactly is Neurodiversity?

The neurodiversity movement has been around for some time, but what exactly is it? In this video, we talk about what the neurodiversity movement is and how it's linked to the autistic community.

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RESEARCH provided by: Farah Mahmud, M.S. Doctoral Candidate, Clinical Psychology
Research consultant: Dr. Patrick LaCount

Citations Links:

Den Houting, J. (2019). Neurodiversity: An insider’s perspective. Behavior Therapy, 23(2), 271-

Den Houting, J. (2019). Neurodiversity: An insider’s perspective. Behavior Therapy, 23(2), 271-

Reference Links:

[Rettcon]

So grateful to be living in a time where this is talked about as openly as it is, and here's to even more openness surrounding mental health. Thank you for everything you do!

[ambermoon]

As someone with ADHD, shout out to my university professors that never yelled or scolded me for drawing pictures as they taught, and recognized that even if it didn’t look like i was paying attention, i was still able to get good grades in their class. They let me do what i needed to do in order to succeed, and i really appreciate it. Their acceptance helped me develop a love for school and learning, even when a typical school setting can be a nightmare for someone with adhd

[lunarbyul]

Living with adhd has taught all of us that most of "the rules" and "structures" are not curated for people like us and the things we're expected to do in order to be considered respectable individuals in our societies are mostly things we struggle with, so learning about neurodiversity has definitely helped me feel validated and seen. Now instead of getting mad at myself i think of ways i can change my environment to match my neurological system.

[Darksomnium]

I was diagnosed with adhd when i was 6 and ever since then ive been on medication. throughout the 29 years of my life pretty much everyone i have encountered treated me like adhd wasnt real and i was just lazy, only in the last 2-3 years am i seeing people take it more seriusly and that is wonderful! but, it feels like its hard to really understand my own brain sometimes as ive lived all of my life thinking "i just need to be better" and not actually identifying how my brain is different from people who don't have adhd. long story short, thank you for these videos, they have helped me learn things about myself that i never thought i would know.

[theresawyman]

Was literally just diagnosed with ADHD today at 31 years old so I am very grateful for videos like this. THANK YOU.

[melissagreen]

Advocacy is so very important. I just recently got a diagnosis of ADHD at 41 years old. Why? Because I’m so good at masking? Yes, partially, but more importantly because most people didn’t understand that adhd can “look” different for everyone. So because I didn’t “seem adhd, ” in their mind, I was blamed for my struggles. I’m just now trying to tackle the years of trauma that brought. I’m so proud of all of you who are educating about this! ❤️

[NFDIH]

Thank you. I am deaf, autistic with ADHD. Everyday I face difficulty challenge. No one ever understand me what I been through.

[Swimdeep]

I recommend your channel often; your explanation of different aspects of ADHD is very user-friendly and much appreciated.
-A neurodiverse fan 🌀

[CombatChicken]

Hey Jessica, your videos have really inspired me a lot. After struggling my whole entire life I decided to talk to a therapist to see where everything came from. We got nothing specific other than "my life sucks, everything is hard and I can't keep a job". I did not know what ADHD was other than being hyperactive. When I saw some of your videos I could really relate and asked my therapist if we could do the testings. I went ahead and told my parents who quickly responded with "Don't get yourself tested, we already know you don't have it.". And let me tell you, it hurt. A couple of weeks pass and I haven't started the tests yet. Me and my parents had a serious conversation after I got emotionally unstable in an argument. My parents told me they didn't get me tested even though the school advised it. All because someone at my moms work told her that ADHD does not exist. I couldn't believe what I heard. All the fights over the last couple of years was all stuff that could've been prevented if only they had me tested. My sister (problematic youth counselor) then joined the conversation stating that I do indeed have a lot of symptoms that could indicate ADHD. So we ended the conversation and I headed home, where I was immediately greeted with a phonecall to not get me tested because they again claimed to already know I didn't have it. I was even more let down at that point. But I persisted and went through. They eventually caught wind and I had a long conversation with them explaining how much it would mean to me to get tested. I demanded (in a nice way) that they would pay for the tests since they disregarded the schools advice anyway. 6 days ago, I finally had my results. I scored 100/100 on all the questions to the form I had to fill out, to which my psychiatrist told me "I am not saying you're lying but we've never had these types of results." and then continued "So when we checked your sisters form, she also scored that high on all the questions.". I remember feeling totally out of it. I did not know what to think and what to feel, I was happy to know it was indeed diagnosed and I felt really sad because my life could've been totally different. I could have had a stable social life, I could have held onto jobs, I could have not wasted money on impulse purchases, would've been able to get relationships going. I could've done so much more. When I got home I started crying. Eventually called my doctor to start the medication and booked my next appointment with my psychiatrist. When I noticed the meds are "working" and the symptoms were just a little bit lighter I also broke down in tears. I'm not saying the meds are a magic solution but I can live with what little they're doing now, knowing I can still have the meds looked into to see if they need to be changed or not along with seeing my psychiatrist. Your videos have helped me out a lot. To understand who I am and what I have. I am really grateful for you and from the bottom of my heart do I wish you all the best things you can ever achieve.

[zoecabrera]

I love these videos not just because they help me understand my own brain, but also for the fact that they are always brilliant when someone asks me questions about my ADHD or to explain ADHD in general, my forever go-to videos to share with them. Thank you as always Jessica!!! :)

[PuppyLuv]

My son has ADHD and some other learning disabilities. I myself have anxiety and depression. You're channel is really informative and comforting. It feels good to know that being different is okay and that we aren't alone. :-)

[cetaceansprogress]

Your channel has really helped me implement lifestyle changes to help live with my ADHD. As well as help me be more patient with myself & have more confidence. <3

[KittRembo]

As someone with ADHD and a stutter, this resonated with me so much. I’m not sure if having a stutter would be considered neurodiverse but a lot of these fit well with it and influences how people who stutter see themselves in the world. ADHD and anxiety influence one’s own perception of themselves and can even make it worse for those with stutters because on top of getting super anxious in social situations, negative societal reactions to our stutters (no matter the diversity in intensity) can make us learn and grown up having to mask in order to not let on that we talk differently. Just wanted to provide an interesting insight into how neurodiversity plays a role in having a stutter as well.

Just with the acceptance of autism these days I feel like people who stutter still have a ways to go although the acceptance movement has been very vocal which I love so much. It helped me so much these last five years!

[marydion]

My dad has self diagnosed ADHD, and we think I've inherited it. I started working on getting diagnosed last week. Either way, your videos help so much. They help when I'm trying to get over the wall of awful and distract me from the fact that I'm doing something I don't want to do. They are also helping my mom understand and get less frustrated while she's dealing with me or my dad. Thank you so much. You're so amazing.

[JoseAlvarezV]

I'm a huge fan of your channel, your videos have helped me organized myself a lot, and it's been difficult I'm not diagnosed with ADHD but the techniques truly help me get organized.

[cinnamaricat]

whenever someone says that they have adhd or think they do i reccomend this channel bc i think that it's very helpful in learning more about how our brains work i was in a psychiatric hospital last week and during one of the groups i used this channel as an example to show how adhd works by using something i saw here (the walking your dog holding an empty coffee mug example from the house tour lol) even the other paitent who was diagnosed found it helpful and someone who said he thinks he has adhd wrote down the channel name bc i said it should help him figure out if he needs to go see a doctor about it i'm very happy that i can use your channel to help others understand what's going on with their brains as well as learn more about my own thank you so much 💕

[IzzySarru]

Anxiety is a state of being for me, but I definitely feel a ramp up when I tell people I have ADHD.
I think most people still just view it as not being able to pay attention to things or being hyper, and that's the best case scenario. The worst being they think it's made up for people who want to excuse their laziness.
It's nice that stuff like this is getting more attention nowadays.

[Chaotic_Pixie]

I respectfully request that you do an audiobook version of your book. I'm sure it'll be clear and concise given the brain it is writing, but i still really struggle to read books... always have the very few exceptions and I absolutely want to read yours.

I'll also be sending this video to my therapist. I tried to define the word neurodiversity for her and I really struggled. Unfortunately I think its a concept that people struggle with.

I also really need to thank you and your brainy cohorts in the information synthesizing and disseminating world because it if weren't for you, certain tiktokers, and certain podcasts... I don't think I would have finally gotten up the courage to get diagnosed and being diagnosed has been life changing. I feel like I understand myself better than I ever have before and I finally have words and terms to explain things I've struggled with my whole life. Please don't ever stop doing what you're doing because your advocacy has already been life changing for others.

[marielredwall]

That was an amazing succinct way of describing how neurodiversity advocates can affirm brain differences and encourage seeking supports that make our lives easier to live.

[namesrhard]

I’m so thankful to have this channel to help me learn about how my brain works and to feel connected with other people who struggle with the same things, especially when I’ve felt very misunderstood for most of my life. I was diagnosed with ADHD a few months ago at age 17. It’s been a confusing time with a lot of ups and downs, but this channel has helped me to better understand everything and it’s inspired me to try and research ADHD professionally so that I can do something like what you guys do when I’m older. Thank you so much for doing what you do! 🙏