Are you neurodivergent?

[fintangel]

Have you been diagnosed with, or do you suspect you might have ADHD or ASD or a combination or both?

YABU = yes
YANBU = no, I’m definitely neurotypical

Why can’t we be? Maybe most people are?

I absolutely don't think I am.

No but all of my kids are, apparently that means I must be 😂 I'm NOT.

I am undiagnosed but tick every box. Dd diagnosed adhd. My Father is most certainly autistic. Don’t think my exdh is so I must be the carrier. I think the people I know are probably 50/50 ND to NT. I get on much better with ND because I just don’t get the ‘closedness’ of NT.

No, I am bloody genius, artistic, interesting, articulate, introverted/extroverted with whomever fancy my boat, able to shake in front of some weirdos and then able to hold the attention speaking from a public platform....you can put any judgement you want on me, I also live for the audience of One.

Yes diagnosed as autistic.

Yes, almost got diagnosed Asperger’s at 7 but we moved, then as a teen I got diagnosed formally. I am specifying Asperger’s because back then that’s what it was called and I do personally identify with it. One of my three children is ASD, and he really is just like me when I was a kid.

It’s very weird seeing it now I’m an adult, but I hope I can use my experience to help him so he doesn’t have to go through what I did. I think the fact that I have more money and resources than my parents did is a massive help. Even little things like noise cancelling headphones make a word of difference. My parents did great, but money makes ASD so much easier for me.

Yes, diagnosed with autism in my 30s.

Yes, ASD, ADHD and personality’disorder’

Its unbearable but I take things one day at a time and try my best. Everything is a struggle

Because there would be nothing to "diverge" from.

At 62 I can’t be bothered to pursue a diagnosis
DS who is 30+ had recently been diagnosed with ADHD and the screening process definitely confirmed to me that I am either autistic ADHD or both

More people will click on this who have a form of neurodivergence than those who don’t.

My only diagnosed ND at the moment is OCD, but I’m on the long waiting list for ADHD diagnosis

It seems that the majority of people claim to be. Maybe our brains haven’t developed at the speed of technology and people are overwhelmed. There is a very high number of people paying a lot of money for assessments and diagnosis when procrastination, brain fog and hysteria have always existed since the beginning of time.
I do internally eye roll when people blame everything on adhd.
Who doesn’t get overwhelmed and unmotivated.

I'm 45 years old, and while I have inattentive ADHD I would never call myself neurodivergent because, well, I'm not.

I have a formal diagnosis of OCD, which I received 30 years ago.

An HCP had suggested that I have ASD and ADHD. It would make sense - one side of the family is full of people who are/were 'quiet'/'shy'/'set in their ways' and younger family members have formal diagnoses of Asperger's and ADHD. There's also a fair number of people in the family with a degree of dyslexia and/or problems with directions.

I had a great-uncle who couldn't cope with 'strangers' in the house - that is, anyone who wasn't close family - and who used to escape to the 'hut' [actually a cottage with working fireplace] that he'd built in a field.

Two of my mum's cousins lived together all their days and didn't socialise outside family and work. One of them had been awarded a scholarship to Edinburgh University, but gave it up when his father died and took a job with the Water Board instead, in order to support his mother and siblings.

It's only now that we're older that some of the quirks in my generation make sense. A few of us were told off for failing to make eye contact, so learned to fake it.

I have a vivid memory of being told off for flapping my mittens as I walked down the road: "Don't! People will think there's something wrong with you!"

Also of being told off for pacing when I was talking...

There's no point in looking for a diagnosis now, but understanding about these things has helped the parents of the younger generation.

I'm fairly certain now that one of my uncles used alcohol to self-medicate. His son is more badly affected than his daughter: the son finds unfamiliarity really stressful.

Both my my uncle's grandsons cope with immediate family and love their jobs. Once their working day ends, they retire home and they're satisfied with that.

My eldest aunt's great grandson went to uni with a diagnosis of dyslexia, but had to be checked out by a specialist at uni. He came out with a confirmed diagnosis of dyslexia and a new diagnosis of ADHD.

The psychologist who spoke to him asked "But how did you manage to get your A levels?"

"I worked really hard."

The lad has since graduated and got a first.

We've been lucky - thus far, everyone in the family affected has been high-functioning and fairly intelligent. However, I've been told that when my mum was young, she was so 'shy' that she was often mute.

As for myself, I've not clicked on the poll since the answer isn't straightforward.

There never was such a thing when I was growing up thank the lord. And none of my kids are either.

How's your project coming along @fintangel?

When DS1 was going through ADHD assessment, I filled out the ‘child depression and anxiety questionnaire’ for him.

Reading the questions was like seeing my entire childhood mapped out. I always thought I was just weird for having phobias and experiencing separation anxiety, to name just two examples, but it was all there in black and white.

I didn’t seek a diagnosis for myself, because I’m an adult and I cope fine day to day. There literally no point. I just assume that my cognitive style tends towards ADHD (and my mum, her mum etc.).

It's not some binary state and this is why so many people suspect that they are ND as to some extent they are. Science tells us that virtually everyone has some ND traits. The diagnostic models are meant to identify people that are significantly impaired by these traits if they manifest in specific ways but it's all pretty subjective and has changed a lot in the past few decades alone.

I think the problem is that it's all got intertwined with identity politics and some people genuinely believe that it is binary. In this context they really struggle to understand that so called NT people will often have ND related struggles and that a lot of this is a relatively 'normal' experience of the human condition. It's all get very confused and extremely sensitive. We have people that are high functioning claiming they are as ND as people that are clearly hugely impacted. It's a mess!

They really aren’t.🙄The numbers are low and both are underdiagnosed in the UK.

It is scientific fact that most of us have identifiable ND traits. Where you draw the threshold and how you package these traits is often completely subjective. There is no such thing as an Autistic or ADHD brain. We can observe ND traits as changes to the brain sometimes but that's as far as it goes. Most NT people will have changed to the brain associated with ND.

Somebody with Broader Autism Phenotype for example can behave and struggle with Autistic traits in a manner that is very similar to someone with an Autistic diagnosis. It is totally possible that someone without a diagnosis has specific individual ND traits that adversely impact their life more than someone with a more conventional profile that will receive a diagnosis but struggles less.

It's messy and grey.

Wow so denying disability now. How lovely.

How am I denying disability? I am simply using science to explain that the ND and NT distinction isn't as binary as many think. Do you think it is binary? Do you think the diagnostic models and threshold aren't subjective to some extent?

I have no idea. I would probably have fit the adhd and autism criteria when younger but back then they simply put "behavioral problems" after 3 months in child psychiatric unit although I was shy and a good student and only lashed out at home.

If you don’t think autism and adhd exist you’re denying disability.