Published on 12, July, 2020
I will start by admitting I'm a bit grumpy as my brain is boiling in the heat (south of England heatwave).
Nevertheless, I am getting rather irritated by people talking about neurodiversity (neurodivergence) on threads without mentioning what the neurodivergence is.
I'm having to assume that they are talking about autism as it's an autism forum but it could be something else (see below).
I feel like this umbrella term becoming a substitute for each individual condition.
Does anyone else feel the same or should I take a cool shower?
I think when people use ND, they are perhaps only thinking in terms of neurodiversity as it affects personality. In that way NT people equate ASD with ND more so than any of the other conditions you listed. It’s my feeling that when used this way, ND equals quirky/weird/socially inept, or what have you…I don’t even mean this negatively as certainly I am all of those things.
Slightly off topic (?) but I was part of an online group where PTSD was considered to be ND. I understand it creates a change in the brain, but there’s a fundamental difference here where ASD is not something to be cured, our brains developed like this and it’s who we are.
PTSD isn't something that can be cured either, it can be managed, you learn to live with it, but every now and again something triggers it and you're off into some other when and if you're really lucky you'll bilocate too. The traumatic memory will impose itself like an acetate overlay onto the world around you, it's disconcerting to say the least.
I think whilst it can share some bits of ASD, it dosen't share all of them and as PTSD is often a product of tramatic incident/s, you can start with an NT brain and come out with a radically changed one. I'm not aware that ASD can be "acquired" in the same way that PTSD is, although many people with ASD do seem prone to PTSD and particularly cPTSD.