Do you think you're neurotypical?

[Whyx]

Quick search didn't show this had been asked before which surprised me.

A lot of neurodivergent (ND) stuff on social media these days. Got me thinking I am definitely ND maybe ADHD. I always think "surely everyone is like that though???" I struggle to comprehend how anyone could think of do things differently to me.

So Mumsnet - do you think you are neurotypical or neurodiverse?

Yabu - neurotypical

Yanbu - neurodiverse

I did wonder if the thread title would skew results. More likely to attract those who have an interest in neurodivergency maybe? ie those who are ND.

I'm very aware of the echo chamber effect on social media but also think that can apply to the people I choose to have in my life and my family. There is a lot of ADHD traits on my side. DH seems autistic and apparently his dad had more obvious traits of it. Our DD also showing some symptoms of each!

I think there are an awful lot of people who say they are ND to excuse their strategic incompetence.

Hmmmm I’m really not sure. I definitely have autistic traits (special interests, struggling to pick up on social cues) and ADHD traits. My brother is autistic and my dad almost definitely was, so it runs in my family.

But I don’t really have the struggles a lot of my ND family and friends face - I can cope with noise and chaos without getting overstimulated, I don’t particularly struggle with anxiety etc.

So I don’t know. Probably on balance I’m NT. I don’t think I’d get a diagnosis unless I started really struggling with life.

But somehow I’ve always felt just a bit different.

Can childhood trauma make you neurodiverse?!

I feel this is quite dismissive to people who are diagnosed with ADHD. If it doesn't cause you any issues you probably don't have ADHD.

NT. Doesn’t mean I’m never disorganised or awkward though.

I feel uncomfortable about people (in general, not this thread particularly) talking about being “a bit ADHD” because they’re messy or “a bit autistic” to mean nerdy or detail-focused. Reminds me of how people used to describe themselves as “a bit OCD” because they like things tidy.

Personally I believe that ND people are the majority.

Yeah so some people are neurotypical though. Most people. That's why ND people find navigating a world that's arranged for NTs so bloody exhausting. It's about a bit more than "we're all individual" FFS

To answer the original question, I'm ND (diagnosed autistic and ADHD)

I'm NT and DD is ND. We are very different

Don't we all sit on a spectrum of human being ness ? Who really gets to decide where the cut off is between the two? If it moves too far the other way, NT could be the lesser number. And the younger generation are so accepting of ND so it's soothing that can be celebrated today. Whereas when I was at school, ND kids were bullied into silence. Or scouts quite often.

I've used the term neurodiverse mainly because that's the trend on SM. Like posts don't always specifically relate to ADHD Vs autism etc. But ND could also refer to other states of being/disorders I guess. It's maybe too broad a term to have real meaning.

I've put NT. The only thing that has made me doubt it is how hard I find it to concentrate on work when WFH. I'm a day dreamer, get lonely and bored.
But on the whole I think I'm just an extravert and a bit lazy!!

I choose to work in the office to overcome this BTW!!

May I ask, did it take long to get? I cannot afford the private test.

I'm quirky but I can fit in as and when I need to, even when I don't particularly want to. I'm as sure as I can be that I'm neurotypical.

I'm neurotypical. The possibility of me being neurodiverse has never been raised and I don't meet any of the diagnostic criteria.

Lots of definitions of neurodiverse include a wide range of things and include trauma and attachment disorders in their definition. Others are a bit more dyslexia, dyspraxia, adhd, asd focused

I think I am nd. Out of interest I would like to find out but I don't see how it would help me now.
I only really thought about it when we started looking into it with dd.

ND and diagnosed 20 years ago. Learning more about it these days. Life is complicated, exhausting and I am misunderstood.

I've never been diagnosed as ND but do have OCD (generally well managed) so unsure what category this actually falls into. It was a mental illness when I was diagnosed but I've seen stuff online where it's described as ND too

I've been asked quite a few times whether I'm autistic. I'm not- I'm an introvert, and I do struggle with social anxiety, but I have no sensory issues, no issues with communication, and I'm fairly flexible in my thinking (except with regards to social arrangements!)

There's an interesting episode of the antisocial podcast on BBC sounds about just this. And it also explores the concept that there's no particularly "typical" brain, so maybe neurotypical is an unhelpful term.

I really don’t know but have often wondered. There is some neurodiversity in my family on my Mum’s side. Her brother was diagnosed with autism and ADHD but not until he was nearly 80! I think my mum herself may have had ADHD but she never sought a diagnosis and has now died. I never met their mother (my grandmother) but would have liked to. She had a lot of mental health problems and didn’t leave her home for many years. People say she ‘suffered with her nerves’. That’s obviously a euphemism for mental illness and/or neurodiversity but I don’t know what was really going on with her.

In turn, my brother and I have some unusual traits. We both have a tendency to repeat sounds/words/phrases (echolalia). We can both become very fixated/obsessed with particular ideas/hobbies/songs etc. We are both moderately uncomfortable in social situations but both mask it well. I am highly sensitive to noise and can quite quickly become agitated or even enraged by noise. But I have strategies I can use to deal with situations that stress me out, so maybe that means I can’t be ND.

My DD (17) has asked to be assessed for ADHD so I have started the ball rolling with that. I’m tempted to get myself assessed for ADHD and/or ASC but am unsure as to how things would change if I had a diagnosis. I manage my life, for the most part, though I resort to some unhealthy coping strategies so maybe I don’t manage as well as I like to think I do.

I am definitely ND maybe ADHD. I always think "surely everyone is like that though???" I struggle to comprehend how anyone could think of do things differently to me.

If you think everyone is like you, then why would you have investigated what it is about your character, or your behaviours, or the way your brain works, that makes you either identify as ND (or potentially take yourself to the medical appointments that have led to your diagnosis).
You must have been aware of differences, to pursue this.

ADHD and dyslexia/dyspraxia: diagnosed by a couple different psychiatrists and multiple evaluations starting when I was a child. Autistic traits but not enough to warrant diagnosis.

I’m sure I’m NT. my dd has asd so I’m familiar with a lot of the differences and none ring true for me, or not to any significant degree.

if I find my life difficult it’s because there is a reason, not because of issues of ND, so I’m fortunate I think. My asd dd is 11 and finds life so much harder than I did at that age, which is very sad, but at least People’s awareness is improving and she has support.

Absolutely NT.

I can't think of any example on here or in RL that would make me think otherwise.