Published on 12, July, 2020
Neurosplaining...By analogy with 'mansplaining', I guess; the act of telling a neurodivergent person how they experience their neurodivergence.
A new word for my vocabulary today, but wondered whether anyone else had heard it before.
I can't claim any credit for inventing this new lexical item here, but I like it and yes it does nicely sum up some rubbish we hear from others (sadly, often professionals as frequently as friends and family). I just came across it in a post on LinkedIn from a psychologist and neuroinclusion specialist. It's made my day. So, I thought I'd share.
My doctor neurosplains me every time he tells me I "suffer with autism". Or tells me he regrets that "he cannot cure my autism".
Has anyone neurosplained you recently?
So far I've had people say I don't look autistic and am I dangerous. I always feel judged around people.
It is a sad fact that people do judge and it happens frequently.
The social anxiety experienced by many autistic people is often for good reason. It is defined as 'anxiety or fear in situations where they may be scrutinized, evaluated, or judged by others'.
Current CBT therapies will try to convince the autistic person that their fear is irrational, despite it being based upon very real experiences of being judged and negatively evaluated.