To think the terms "neuro diverse" and "neuro typical" will be short lived.

[theplatformedge]

Diversity means "a range of many people or things that are very different from each other" (Oxford learner's dictionary), so the idea that a minority of people are "neuro diverse" and everyone else is "neuro typical" is not only semantically illogical, but also potentially offensive.

We're all different. Some people have traits that make life more difficult for them than others, whether it be ASD, ADHD or a range of other conditions, with spectrums of severity. Telling people that you're neuro-diverse is so vague as to be meaningless, and telling other people they are nero-typical when you have no idea what they're feeling inside is insensitive. Some people get a formal diagnosis for their symptoms, some people self-diagnose and others don't recognise it in themselves. Nobody knows how many people are living with these traits across the population, but the massive increase in diagnostics suggests they're a lot more common than anyone ever thought in the past, and therefore gradually becoming very "typical".

Discuss! 🙂

@theplatformedge it would help if you knew what spectrum is.

I think people will probably start talking more about specific diagnoses and less about neurodivergence, which is such a broad category that it can be quite unhelpful.

But the poster never said that autism was a label or indeed that her anxiety was a label. She said that she didn't want to label herself as ND. ND is not a diagnosis in itself but an umbrella term and in a sense it is a label. I understand why you don't like this term because of the negative connotations but I think this was her point. She does view ND as a 'label' that doesn't reflect her hence she doesn't want to associate herself with it. It is not negating or undermining her or your diagnosis of autism or anxiety. It's two different things!

Or perhaps accusations of "ableism" are being wielded as a weapon to try and silence people who are expressing perfectly valid perspectives.

I actually hate the terms ND & NT. I have ADHD and would much rather be labelled with ADHD than ND. I think ND covered a wide spectrum of diagnoses and doesn’t really help you understand what triggers/sensitivities etc a person might have.

I hope they are short lived

She didn't do that. She never referred to her anxiety as a 'label', she referred to ND as a label. There is a huge distinction to be made between the two.

I will never bore of hearing that celebrities are ND. It's great for my autistic DD (yes, diagnosed) to see that autistic people can be super successful and open about their diagnosis.

If you're not ND or don't have a ND child I can't see why it would bother you either way. Count your blessings and move on.

No there isn’t, you’re grasping at straws and making excuses. The word ‘label’ when speaking about neurodivergence always has the same implication - ‘making something up to seem special/different’.

@SpeedyDrama

No it is not, I don’t think you fully understand what you are talking about

I don't expect the terms to last for very long, partly because such terms rarely do, and partly because our understanding of the issues is still rather primitive and probably better terms will come along in due course. But these ones will do for now, in spite of their inadequacies.

Out of the two of us specifically, when it comes to understanding the topic of this thread and the value of our contributions based on knowledge and experience, it is very clear that you don’t fully understand what is being spoken about. You’re pulling opinions out of thin air (and that’s a kind way of saying it) and thinking you have a weighted view. You do not and you have been ignorant at best.

Or perhaps accusations of "ableism" are being wielded as a weapon to try and silence people who are expressing perfectly valid perspectives.

No; it was the mention of people having 'traits' such as ASD & ADHD. Then the talk of the prevalence meaning people living with these ''traits' means it's becoming more 'typical'

I'm not trying to silence you, but I will label you ableist and ignorant every time you spit the same kind of shit.

Ok I’ll stop quoting you as requested.

What happens when 6/10 people in a group are "neurodiverse"?

Am I shutting down discussion or am I explaining why I and some people like me find this language useful and what we mean by it? How is that not discussion? I've used an awful lot of words for someone who isn't discussing something.

I think you've completely missed my point though. My analogy was about the word 'typical' not a direct comparison to ND condition diagnoses. Many more people than are currently diagnosed are ND, we know that I never said the opposite, it's increasing every year as we learn more. And thank god for that, I was in my late 30s before I was diagnosed.

You are also wrong about typical legs, a typical leg WILL experience issues. Those knees and hips often need to be replaced, my own knee has gives me lots of gyp. Typical also doesn't mean perfect.

No, just because you think this doesn't make it objectively true. The poster did not diminish or undermine your or her diagnosis. She absolutely did not write or imply that diagnosable conditions were 'labels'. She simply wrote that she doesn't identify with the umbrella term or label ND and therefore has chosen to not adopt it. There is no expert consensus on what conditions full under the term ND so I don't think this should be too controversial.

You are determined to find ableism and offense and will attempt to silence anyone that disagrees with you by suggesting that everyone has to accept the current definitions of NT and ND and treat them with absolute severance. Many have pointed the flaws in this binary, subjective and inconsistent model and it is perhaps unsurprising that some do view it more of a 'label' than a useful clinical term. It must be possible to critique and question concepts like the NT/ND model without being constantly accused of prejudice. It just silences debate and stops people advocating for themselves or family members who are victims of the flaws of the current system.

When providing services how do you support the needs of a child who is very gregarious, needs to wear ear defenders and also needs to make a lot of noise and move around a lot, at the same time as a child who is very quiet, comes across as old for their age and masks well but in reality struggles with overly noisy environments and will self exclude from the service.

So many times it seems that autistic childrens' needs clash and one loses out.

I think it might be a way to steer away from using terms such as 'normal' which I can only think is a good thing. My son is autistic but he is still normal and there is nothing 'wrong' with him.

The poster did not diminish or undermine your or her diagnosis. She absolutely did not write or imply that diagnosable conditions were 'labels'.

This particular poster started their contribution to this thread by saying how many parents are ‘claiming’ their children are ND as if it’s quite unbelievable, especially before having an official diagnosis (which as many of us have pointed out, can take many years and doesn’t stop our children being autistic in the meantime). They then went on to say that celebrities who ‘claim’ to be ND as embarrassing. Then further on said they wouldn’t ‘label’ themselves which absolutely confirms their thought process on people talking about being ND.

You are determined to find ableism and offense and will attempt to silence anyone that disagrees with you by suggesting that everyone has to accept the current definitions of NT and ND and treat them with absolute severance.

Perhaps, but whilst nonsense like ‘we’re all on a spectrum regardless of neurodivergence’ is still being spouted, offence will be taken when undermining disabilities to this degree. It is ableism, just because you don’t accept it doesn’t stop it being so.