Neurodivergent -v- Autistic

 Not assessed but probable/very probable= dyspraxia, dysgraphia and nvld. Have Total aphantasia.

FH said:

reappropriated

Debbie said:

until I discovered it had been (insert word) by the relevant group

reappropriated?

TheCatWoman said:

But I wouldn't like us to have an alphabet like LBTGQ etc, I can't remember the rest because dyslexia means I don't do sequenses well.

I just put + at the end (LGBTQ+).

TheCatWoman said:

it reminds me of the mind bending verbal acrobatics we had to go through everytime we thought about or addresses a non white person 30 years ago.

I say 'non white' now as I was horrified at one point to find I was using a term from my past that was currently deemed offensive.

It's also interesting how terms are (I can't think of the word) by groups.

When I was young 'queer' was a derogatory term and I never used it.

I was at first shocked to find it being used in media, until I discovered it had been (insert word) by the relevant group.

It is a good term in itself, but it is misused, I think.

We say that a BBC drama's cast is 'diverse', i.e. it can include multiple ethnicities and sexualities amongst the cast. We don't say that one particular actor in the drama is diverse.

My wife has dyslexia and I'm autistic, so i suppose it is a neurodiverse marriage. I would not say that either of us is neurodiverse.

What am I saying? I suppose that to me ND applies to a group, not an individual.

So, yes, I agree, if it is being used as a substitute for each individual condition, then it is no longer a useful term.

I think all the terms tend to blend into one amophous blob, it can be quite anxiety inducing in itself knowing the correct way to describe onesself and there seems to be a growing hierarchy of how many other conditions you have along with autism. Now I guess there are going to be people jumping up and down because they don't have autism amoung thier neurodiverse conditions.

I think it's probably a less clunky word in general conversation, but in others more explaination needs to be given. I do think there are so many things that "the spectrum" encompasses that we need both a shorthand word and more specific ones too. But I wouldn't like us to have an alphabet like LBTGQ etc, I can't remember the rest because dyslexia means I don't do sequenses well.

On the whole it all feels a minefield for potential offence, leaving people out, including to many assumptions, it reminds me of the mind bending verbal acrobatics we had to go through everytime we thought about or addresses a non white person 30 years ago.

I've always preferred the term ND because there are so many other features. I myself have dysgraphia and dyspraxia with alexithymia thrown in for good measure.

Most people haven't got a clue that "we" live amongst them as the stereotype lives large.

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. 

Debbie said:

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 on threads without mentioning what the neurodiversity 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?