To think a very high percentage of people are Neuro divergent?

[Marshmallow4545]

I have just spoken to yet another friend who suspects that they may be Neurodivergent. They are not interested in seeking a diagnosis for various reasons but this means they will never be picked up in the statistics. Anecdotally, this isn't unusual amongst my friendship circle and I now suspect that a very large percentage of the population believe they may be ND even if they have no diagnosis and have never seen a professional about this. So out of interest please vote:

YABU: if you think you are Neurotypical
YANBU: if you believe you are Neurodivergent, even if you don't have a diagnosis

I think there is a lot of self diagnosis based on something they have seen on TikTok, rather than genuine ND.

Well I guess this newly started ND thread today at least doesn’t suggests that people seek diagnosis for financial ‘gain’!

I think it's quite the opposite in lots of cases where people don't even seek a diagnosis, although it would be interesting to consider how the system could support everyone that is potentially ND in a sustainable and sensible way. If I'm right then the statistics massively underestimate the scale of the issue.

70% of people think they might be ND so far. This is so interesting and confirms my hunch.

I actually think there's more ND people than NT people

I always knew I felt different from other people but pretended I was fine. I could never ever understand how everyone around me found most things effortless whereas for me it was a huge battle. I'd go through stages of what I thought was severe depression, literally unable to do the most basic tasks ( turns out it was burnout )

My youngest turned 5 and school mentioned that they thought he potentially had ADHD.... I started researching and was absolutely gobsmacked to find I was reading about myself. I was diagnosed in 2023 and then in 2024 I was diagnosed with autism. My daughter was diagnosed with autism 6 months after me. She was pushed to the top of the waiting list thankfully

Now I know what ND looks like, it's clear to see my dad has autism and my mum has adhd and I can see both amongst my siblings

But me and my daughter are the first to be diagnosed in our family ever and that's 2 generations. Imagine how far back it really goes

My parents had 4 children and I would confidently say all 4 are ND ( Myself included ) and both of my children are ND ... and my parents both have 5 or 6 siblings each

I think ND far outweigh NT and soon I think ND will be the normal and NT will be uncommon,

**edited to add I was diagnosed at 31 and 32 )

Anecdotally, this isn't unusual amongst my friendship circle

Those who are neurodivergent tend to find one another so friendship circles look the same.

Edited to add that I was diagnosed as autistic as a young adult and with ADHD when older.

But could it also be that NT is actually not the norm and it is normal to some extent to be ND? I know that seems like a contradiction but the error could be in defining what is typical wrongly and then building a world and expectations around that when it was only ever a minority of people that were truly NT.

Well I suppose if a very high percentage of the population is, then they're not really 'divergent' at all. They're the norm. Not that that means some among them don't need support.

We can't support everyone though, if you're only mildly ND, whatever that turns out to mean, then sometimes I think you just have to play with the cards you were dealt.

I do think you're right but I'm actually also thinking of colleagues and my children's friends' parents etc. Groups that haven't necessarily chosen each other and yet there still seems to be an enormous amount of suspected and confirmed ND versus what the official stats suggest.

If ND becomes the norm and NT becomes the minority then surely the terms should be switched, because if more people are ND then that makes them the 'typical' group....

70% of 34 people is hardly conclusive.

FWIW it's not common in my experience. I know very few people who think they are ND (one of my closest friends was diagnosed as an adult with ADHD so she doesn't think she knows)

It's much more common in my experience for people to think their children are ND.

True, but it's interesting it's so high already. It should be around 10-20% if you believe the official stats.

Yes. Just like girls used to be able to have short hair and play with cars without being labelled ' trans'.

On MN, a phenomenal number of people who find interviews, meeting new people, making friends or staying organised difficult appear to want to label themselves as ND. We all find these things difficult.

It’s genetic so if you are ND then your children are likely to be and they are likely to find other friends who are, and they are likely to have parents that are because of the genetic link.

There are also certain jobs that have a higher number of ND people working them so again, colleagues are more likely to be ND as a result.

This is such an interesting thread @Marshmallow4545 , in particular the survey.

I agree that we have pathologised perfectly normal feelings and reactions to the ups and downs of life.

I also think our brains are not developed to live in the world of technology that we are all now forced to cope with, and this leads to a lot of the mental health challenges we face.

If there are more ND than NT people, then must the labels be swapped over?

I think everyone's brains are different and there should only be a diagnosis where there is significant impairment, so those people can access help.

Everyone else should get on with it.

I suspect I'm autistic as both my children are and I score highly enough in online screenings and recognise a lot of traits. But I don't really have any support needs so I'm not sure what a diagnosis would give me.

This thread is the literal definition of a biased response.

NT people eon’t care and won’t vote.

Maybe it’s that the only neurodivergent people are the ones we all call neurotypical given they’re now apparently in the minority.

I think the phrase “ neurotypical” is very very very very misleading.

It’s binary thinking at work : you’re ’ normal’ or ‘ not normal’ …..it’s obvious the world doesn’t actually function in such a stark manner.

Totally agree.

Think a bit more about this. What could you be missing?

Maybe so. I do wonder if this is the natural conclusion. We accept that being Neurodivergent is a normal part of the human condition. We look to support more of the population with these traits rather than assuming it's a minority issue and offering support in that way. It potentially might dilute the support available to individuals but offer more help at a population level to more people

I think we poorly interpret our brains. With our brains. It’s like trying to examine a hammer only using a hammer.

My theory is that at some point we will throw the DSM away as it pertains to NDs. Because how they work isn’t neatly fitted into discrete disorders. My DD is Classic Coke ADHD, no attention or ALL the attention, high energy, no risk assessment, classic boy-type. In more than one place, and from before birth. My kidneys were black and blue in pregnancy! I have ADHD but more dreamy girl-type and it was missed in school.

So far so typical. But DH (and girls with ADHD often get it from both sides) is NT. Theoretically. He’s very intelligent and designs AI quantum computing apps for fun. In his own time. Now it’s pro-social, he’s great with people and holds down a job. He did well at school and with friendships. So no one would diagnose him with a ‘disorder’. But his brain works differently than normal people.

In the future we will understand differences in terms of more than just ‘disorders’. We won’t use silly nonsense like the fake psychometric tests where people define themselves as an IERJDHQZ based on a questionnaire. Instead genetics and scanning will give us more information about how our brains differ and what different people need to be successful.

But as long as we have the DSM and the internet, people will fit themselves in the tiny (and probably not very accurate) boxes that are currently available.