What super power does your disability or condition brings you ? I have adhd

[Nothingisblackandwhite]

I know mostly we speak about the negatives of disabilities but what “ super power “ does yours bring you ?
I have ADHD , it can make work harder or easier depending on the day . I work from home and manage my own team and I’ve been so hyper focused today that I did my days work by 10:30 ( started at 7 ) . Was about to progress to tomorrows work but decided against it as I have in the past had reminders not to expect others to work as fast as me . So I’m organising tomorrow work instead .
My oldest has autism and he never forgets a place , we can be years and years without visiting a country and he will still know the way around streets and can always find a car in a car park .

Anxiety and depression - to contrast with my severely down days I have amazing moments where I am on cloud 9 and feel the happiest person alive. I absolutely love those moments, they're amazing and lift me up so I survive.

Oof, so in your opinion people who don't consider their disabilities super powers and struggle and suffer and generally just have a hard time with them simply have the "wrong attitude"?

OP I'm sorry, but you're very closely bordering on the "if you're depressed just try being happy!" or "you have nothing to be anxious about!" attitude here. Implying that people who struggle and see no positives to their disabilities have an attitude problem is deeply offensive, far more offensive than the naïve superpower horseshit.

Other people have different experiences.

I mean, I was a member of Mensa from age about 11. I'm in the top 1% of the UK, intelligence wise. I've also been sectioned multiple times for suicide attempts.

To be frank I'd rather be of average intelligence and have a happy, normal life.

Trite is the word. And vacuous.

The point posters are making is that for most people with disabilities there isn’t a positive to having the disability. ‘None’ is a valid answer to the question OP asked.

They could just not respond.

We already know there are negatives.

OP did herself no favours by talking about the 'right' attitude later in the thread.

I don't like the 'superpower' thing but the positives I get from my autism are excellent pattern recognition, a really strong smell memory, the ability to read the body language of animals really easily and hyperlexia which enables me to read very quickly.

The downsides hugely outweigh the positives though.

'Disability superpowers'

See also, 'gratitude journals' and people 'fighting' cancer.

Women aren't allowed to express their anger about things that are shitty in their lives. It's toxic positivity.

This book's good
https://www.theguardian.com/books/2010/jan/10/smile-or-die-barbara-ehrenreich

Sorry OP, I would use, and have used the superpower approach with children if they are really struggling to make friends or cope at school. But it's not for adults.

Don’t be silly , I don’t think anyone has super powers , obviously what I meant what does your disability offers you that is positive that most other people don’t have . You are choosing to be offended by something simply because it’s a positive post about disabilities . I have not said once your feelings were not ok or valid , they are . however you cannot expect everyone to feel the same way as you . I know all to well how much of a struggle some days are hence the positive post when I have one where I am not struggling .

DP has epilepsy...we consider him still being alive after a seizure to be his "superpower". He also hates that term.

Not at all , I don’t consider a disability a super power , I was obviously asking people what even if small thing their disability had that most others don’t have . . I never said anyone’s feelings are invalid

Where does this stuff come from?

I suspect it's bound up with* *toxic positivity.

When it's done at you - it feels belittling, patronising and dismissive and can feel like it adds more pressure while dismissing actual difficulties - I've had this and I suspect some posters are annoyed because they have to.

When it come from individuals looking for positives it's making the most of the situation I suppose - looking for the silver lining in the big dark cloud.

I suspect I'm more persistent resilient and possible hard working because I had to be - got little positive feedback other than for trying and there was nothing till very late in education and by then kith and kin views of my abilities had formed and fixed. I can't be 100% sure though I wouldn't have been like that anyway it may well be my personality.

I'm very organised - but it best described as brittle I'm super organised or not at all . My skills there are hard won lots of work by my Mum - which I've then passed on to my kids - when they work they are really good - when they fall apart due to stress or time it's chaos and I often need help to restart. I'm not sure that's positive or negative it's just what it is.

Just x-post with NorthernSpiceGirln - but yes toxic positivity that I think started in US culture and spread.

Um not many
I get abscesses which make sporners corner happy
I can draw on my skin if I don't have a pen

That's about it. The rest of it is shit, and so is the medication side effects. Which I've just realised I need to do so I'll be awake all night pouring with sweat, shivering, throwing up and with a banging headache

In your opinion. Again, people can chose to view their condition however they like.

There's no monopoly on it.

Some find focusing on the positives very useful.

Wow , op im sorry as this isn't a response to your question but it's a huge relief to read this as I really struggle with the online and LinkedIn neurodiversity proud and powerful messaging. So glad to read that other people don't feel this way.
I feel like autism does not gift me anything that can't be found in non-autistic people, and actually none of my skills are very useful (I am really clever) as I have zero people skills or soft skills to make something of myself.

Yet another example of policing words and language.

It’s not a race to the bottom, either.

You a reading too much into it . It came from literally me trying to stop me rushing my team this morning and having to stop working as I was hyperfocused . Tehte is no toxic nothing there is no culture , no I do not use Instagram etc . It was simply a post trying to get some small silver lining from the fact disabilities cause are mostly a negative impact on us . I wish people understood it was supposed to be a positive post

My severely autistic non verbal 13 year old has the power to shock people when hs screams loudly and frequently in supermarkets etc
🙄
people can feel however they want about their own disability but they often forget it impacts people differently ,my son is severely disabled y his autism
my oldest son has just been diagnosed with diabetes he's i insulin dependent people never take about diabetes and super powers

Definitely that ^^

I think the superpower thing is mostly related to ADHD/autism as I can't see what superpower losing your leg, having a stroke or having cancer gives you

Dd can learn to play an instrument I. Just a few hours, and I mean well enough to play orchestral level pieces competently and others assume she's already playing that instrument!) (She doesn't however like practicing hence why she isn't a virtuoso soloist)I'm in awe though of picking up an instrument at 10 am and playing a full symphony that night. She's autistic.

I'm not sure about toxic positivity. I think the root of it is an idea about making disability 'palatable' and 'acceptable' by showing that some disabled people are 'merely' differently able and thus still 'valuable' in society. Which is nice for those it includes perhaps, but heaps additional misery on those who are then doubly excluded as not 'normal' and not 'super' either.

That is indeed amazing 🤩! My oldest has a massive memory , non verbal , lives mostly in a world of his own , but as a young child he would memorize word by word the movie credits and write it down . He started weighing when he was 3 , 20 years ago we had no iPad so he used to use the scrabble tiles . Barely writes these days , mostly uses it to tell me where he wants to go .