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

Pretty sure I would be diagnosed with ADHD if I sought it, not going to bother now I’m an adult though. I’ve managed to be successful without support for it so I’ve clearly found ways of working with it/working around it. And I suspect I’m a relatively mild case.

DH has autistic tendencies.

I suspect DS takes after his dad, and it’s probably too soon to tell with DD.

I also think my mum has ADHD.

I think I am NT, but I do have some traits that would be considered on the spectrum of ND which I think everyone does to some extent. A lot of which were a lot worse when I was younger. I think self diagnosis of ND is a bit like when you Google a symptom and it tells you you have cancer every time.

I know so many ND adults and children to be honest it feels like the net is now so widely drawn that we will have to reverse the definitions. If will be less common to be NT than ND.
I have long wondered whether the struggles people face in their daily lives are due to the stresses of modern life which weren’t faced by our ancestors who could choose to leave school at 14 ,never heard amplified music (or only if they sought it out), socialised with a smaller number of people they knew well etc

Then I imagine you're not ADHD, as one of the qualifiers for diagnosis is that the symptoms have and do negatively impact your life in at least two areas.

I have long wondered whether the struggles people face in their daily lives are due to the stresses of modern life which weren’t faced by our ancestors who could choose to leave school at 14 ,never heard amplified music (or only if they sought it out), socialised with a smaller number of people they knew well etc

I rather feel like our ancestors simply managed better because they had less stressors

Not hearing amplified music is a great example. I think the majority of things we react to now that we're not present years ago just mean that people coped better with their conditions.

On a tangentially related note, I really enjoyed the CBBC adaptation of A Kind of Spark which I just finished watching with DD. The main character is autistic and played by an autistic actress as are other characters. One of the main neurotypical characters is played by an autistic actress. I really hope we see more productions like this to help widen our perceptions of neurodiverse women. The author of the book it's based on is ND herself.

Both my grandmothers were forced into arranged marriages at 12, and my DD will marry whoever she please at whatever age she pleases, so I think they had more stressors really

a lot of these assessors have no regulatory body. Anyone can call themselves a psychologist

a lot of these assessors have no regulatory body. Anyone can call themselves a psychologist

Clinical psychologists have a degree and go through further training in order to be able to assess and diagnose.

They are not just radom people who wake up and decide to be a 'psychologist'

Diagnoses are not relevant or used in schools, precisely because they are so unreliable.

Children are supported according to the needs they show in school, not according to bits of paper they bring with them.

There is a direct correlation between the wealth of the family and the number of assessments children bring into school. I have had whole drawers full for some children. I am never going to read them, how would that be fair? To put aside half a day to read all the paper work that comes with a rich kid, and disregard the needs of a poorer kid who has more difficulties, but parents unable to ask for help.

A lot of children who come to us from families with ADHD in them have parents in prison, divorced, not working, etc. So the most severe cases are the ones least likely to come with an oven ready assessment, particularly if they have inherited it from parents who are also severely affected

a lot of these assessors have no regulatory body. Anyone can call themselves a psychologist

My 'paid for' autism assessment was completed by a clinical psychologist and an occupational therapist. They were qualified in undertaking ADOS assessments and assessing and diagnosing autism. The NHS accepted my private diagnosis with no issues at all.

I don't have a diagnosis, but I might have gotten a variety of diagnosis as a child. But that would be in response to trauma I been exposed to.

Does ptsd count? Selective mutism, i had that a lot when I was younger. And pausing the world and going into my own world. Of course you can't pause the world, you just space out for a while.

@Punxsutawney

The NHS accepted my private diagnosis with no issues at all.

Yeah. It seems to be the unqualified who dismiss private assessments. These people seem to shout the loudest but know the least.

My ADHD was diagnosed by a psychiatrist privately. A different private psychiatrist diagnosed c-PTSD and the lady who diagnosed my autism is a SLT who was involved in creating the sign 145 the national clinical guidelines, she was the clinical lead in Scotlands largest autism team within the NHS and she was the Scottish trainer for DISCO assessments until a few years ago (the license ended after Lorna Wing died)

My diagnostic assessments were solid.

That is a lot to take on for you, you sound like the central core of your family and a lot falls on your shoulders. I feel similar, I’m more ‘ND’ than many who feel that they are, but compared to family members I’m much nearer NT.

I mentioned A Kind of Spark earlier. There is a teacher in it called Miss Murphy who can't accept the needs of her autistic students and is full if contradictions about it. I thought this part was really interesting and I'm sure it will resonate with people.

I honestly dont know.
I think NT but with some "spectrum" features.
Im not sure that makes me ND though.

If you took all the people ‘absolutely sure - but without a diagnosis’ on here the results would look a lot different.

Well, I've seen Dyspraxia defined as neurodivergent, and I am definitely dyspraxic.

However, I'd say I'm basically neurotypical. I think and behave a little differently to the norm in this country, but if I was Dutch no one would bat an eyelid. Executive functioning all fine.

I’ve definitely heard of some potentially dodgy private autism assessments before. A questionnaire then a zoom call to someone in another country, for example. That’s very different to in-person assessments with multiple different professionals (which I know some private assessments are).

So I think there are some fantastic private assessments, and some not so good. It’s good business - they earn c£800 for 1.5 hours’ work. The demand for assessments is high, and word easily gets around so they never seem short of referrals/business.

Neurodiverse. ADHD diagnosis through nhs referral/ psychiatrist (not psychologist).

People pay for the same assessment given by the NHS, I don't understand why you think any clinician would risk their livelihood by diagnosing against the guidelines? Ok I believe there might be the odd dodgy person out there, but realistically nobody needs to misdiagnose. What would be their end game?

This is really interesting. From what I’ve seen (fairly limited) people who pay privately do seem to get diagnoses without fail. People with an nhs provider sometimes don’t. At the end of the day it’s clinical judgment of an individual going through assessment criteria. Scoring. I don’t think it it’s anything deliberately dodgy, just that when someone is paying (often £300-400 at least) there is a slight bias towards diagnosis, and when it’s the nhs with their cost cutting/ more frugal attitude towards resources, there is a slight bias against diagnosis.

This is really interesting. From what I’ve seen (fairly limited) people who pay privately do seem to get diagnoses without fail. People with an nhs provider sometimes don’t. At the end of the day it’s clinical judgment of an individual going through assessment criteria. Scoring. I don’t think it it’s anything deliberately dodgy, just that when someone is paying (often £300-400 at least) there is a slight bias towards diagnosis, and when it’s the nhs with their cost cutting/ more frugal attitude towards resources, there is a slight bias against diagnosis

Nope. The reason is the majority of people coming forward and paying a few times your low figure for an assessment have already done their research. I spent 4 years deliberating and researching before paying £1200 (it was a few years ago) for a private assessment. At the point of that assessment I already knew deep down I was autistic. NT people are not approaching private clinicians for assessments they don't need.

The only reason you would be able to cite diagnosis bias with fee paying patients would be if a random cross section of society was assessed in large numbers. Otherwise all you have is a huge number of people who knew they are ND coming forward.

Of course there will be people who don't get the diagnosis and people who are misdiagnosed but in the main, if you are paying for an assessment you are not doing it lightly.

people who pay privately do seem to get diagnoses without fail

The clinical psychologist who was part of the team that diagnosed me privately, said that that she had plenty of clients that didn't meet the threshold for an autism diagnosis. I didn't pay for a diagnosis, I paid for an assessment. I always remained open minded about the outcome.

you can be assessed by exactly the same psychiatrist whether it’s the NHS or you’re paying private.

Do you really think they’d risk their professional reputation (and career) by just diagnosing anyone who has paid?

Lots of people don’t get the diagnosis they were expecting from an assessment. They probably mostly come away with some kind of diagnosis, but that’s because people aren’t paying many hundreds of pounds to see a psychiatrist if they aren’t experiencing significant problems in their life.

Everyone I know who has had an assessment for a neurodiverse condition has gone into it both fearing and expecting that the psychiatrist is going to tell them that there is nothing wrong beyond them actually being useless/lazy/etc.

It’s also a really horrible process having people in your life complete questionnaires about how shit you are, and then sitting with a psychiatrist outlining with specific examples how shit you are, and how that’s been the case all your life, I’m pretty much area you can think of.

It’s really not something you’d want to put yourself through if you didn’t have significant problems.