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Are we really the minority we're told we are?

TheCatWoman

Neuro diversity is such a huge thing and few people seem to understand it, but more and more symptoms are being recognised all the time and neuro-typical people seem to be finding it hard that we don't seem to be the minority they thought we were, we're mainsteam, but special, or we're treated as special, more special than them anyway, when we're not being kicked and punished for being different, although what that different actually is seems fairly indefinable.

Is it possible that we could be moving towards a post ND world?, Not yet obviously, to many of us are still struggling for recognition and diagnosis and te help that can come with it. But as the number of us grows, should it be less us and them and more of an idea of we're all a bit different and thats OK? 

  • TheCatWoman said:
    Neuro diversity is such a huge thing

    This is  something that is quite hard to put into hard facts and it really depends on how you are using the term (since it is a spectrum condition).

    Is it just people who meet the threshold for a diagnosis? Is it every part of the spectrum or is it everyone who identifies with it (many people claim "we are all a bit neurodiverse" after all)?

    I noticed in a poll on YouGov ( https://today.yougov.com/health/articles/50950-neurodiversity-neurodivergence-in-united-states-19-percent-americans-identify-neurodivergent-poll ) that there are the following stats in the USA:

    19% of Americans say they are neurodivergent.
    26% of respondents who say they are neurodivergent when given the definition are unable to define the term while only 24% of respondents could identify the term correctly.

    This implies that three quarters of those who identify as neurodiverse either don't know what it really is (with one quarter pretty clueless about it).

    It seems to have become a bandwagon for many to climb aboard and as such are taking a great deal of credibility from those who are actually neurodivergent.

    Remember that this is not just autism (they make up approx 5% of the population, ADHD makes up another 10% and bipolar another 0.5% - although there is some overlap between the conditions so exact numbers are probably around 15% in total).

    These stats can be easily verified online if anyone cares to research them.

    TheCatWoman said:
    we don't seem to be the minority they thought we were

    Unfortunately we are a minority, not just in simple stats but because those with ADHD have very different needs to autists and bipolar. Even amongst autists there are wildly different needs so we don't fit into any easily identifiable group and hence are minorities within minorities.

    TheCatWoman said:
    as the number of us grows, should it be less us and them

    We can only hope. History has taught us that this is a slow, slow process, especially when we are much less vocal about our presence than other groups have been in history (racial rights, LGBTQUIA... rights, even womens rights) - and it is rarely our nature to stand up and make our presence felt due to the nature of our conditions.

    My thoughts are that this is going to be decades in the making - many decades in fact but if we don't find a way to make it happen then we will just get pushed down as something uncomfortable to see.

    Do you have any thoughts on how to make a positive impact on our recognition and to avoid us being seen as a "trendy" thing for bandwagoneers to join when it suits them?