A thought I had this morning about neurodivergence and the modern world - opinions appreciated!

Loz said:

If we lived in a much earlier, slower world — before all the hustle and bustle — would traits linked to ASD or ADHD actually have been less of a difficulty? Or maybe even strengths?

I have thought this.

In Hunter gatherer times, autistic tribe members would probably have carried out the tasks that they were more suited to - things like making tools, finding useful plants & herbs and tracking animals. I think that early human societies would have valued the practical skills someone could bring to the community. 

Fast forward to when farming started, and some autistic people would have been the forerunners to modern autistic animal experts like Chris Packham and Dr Temple Grandin, knowing all about the animals and how to care for them, or they might have understood the land and how best to grow crops. And there would also have been those who were good at crafts or skilled in things like producing honey or wine. 

In the early years of scientific discovery, it's now believed that many of the people who made those discoveries were on the autistic spectrum. They might have been viewed as a little eccentric, but were left to themselves to use their individual gifts to help mankind progress.

Fast forward to the 20th century and we have huge changes - the rise of cities, of motorised traffic, huge rises in populations, social mobility and fragmented communities where people no longer know their neighbours. Many of us never see the countryside and nature is more difficult to engage with.

Every time we go out we have to deal with strangers who we don't feel comfortable with. Traffic noise and sirens. Music and announcements in stores. People now rarely have a "family doctor" for years who knows them. We make appointments via a receptionist who is often a stranger to us, to see a medical professional who may also be a stranger to us.

Most of us can't use skills like arts, crafts, animal or plant knowledge to make money - we have to do jobs that are inappropriate for autistic people such as working in an office, factory, warehouse or supermarket. Due to the structure of modern society, we no longer live in small communities where people know each other and learn to understand each other's strengths, skills and idiosyncrasies - our circles of people we know are smaller, making us feel more vulnerable. We often withdraw as it seems too much hard work to try to build a friendship from scratch.

Neurotypical people can filter out unwanted inputs such as noise and crowds of people, but autistic people don't have that ability. So I do believe it's the modern world that disables us.

Loz said:

If we lived in a much earlier, slower world — before all the hustle and bustle — would traits linked to ASD or ADHD actually have been less of a difficulty? Or maybe even strengths?

I have thought this.

In Hunter gatherer times, autistic tribe members would probably have carried out the tasks that they were more suited to - things like making tools, finding useful plants & herbs and tracking animals. I think that early human societies would have valued the practical skills someone could bring to the community. 

Fast forward to when farming started, and some autistic people would have been the forerunners to modern autistic animal experts like Chris Packham and Dr Temple Grandin, knowing all about the animals and how to care for them, or they might have understood the land and how best to grow crops. And there would also have been those who were good at crafts or skilled in things like producing honey or wine. 

In the early years of scientific discovery, it's now believed that many of the people who made those discoveries were on the autistic spectrum. They might have been viewed as a little eccentric, but were left to themselves to use their individual gifts to help mankind progress.

Fast forward to the 20th century and we have huge changes - the rise of cities, of motorised traffic, huge rises in populations, social mobility and fragmented communities where people no longer know their neighbours. Many of us never see the countryside and nature is more difficult to engage with.

Every time we go out we have to deal with strangers who we don't feel comfortable with. Traffic noise and sirens. Music and announcements in stores. People now rarely have a "family doctor" for years who knows them. We make appointments via a receptionist who is often a stranger to us, to see a medical professional who may also be a stranger to us.

Most of us can't use skills like arts, crafts, animal or plant knowledge to make money - we have to do jobs that are inappropriate for autistic people such as working in an office, factory, warehouse or supermarket. Due to the structure of modern society, we no longer live in small communities where people know each other and learn to understand each other's strengths, skills and idiosyncrasies - our circles of people we know are smaller, making us feel more vulnerable. We often withdraw as it seems too much hard work to try to build a friendship from scratch.

Neurotypical people can filter out unwanted inputs such as noise and crowds of people, but autistic people don't have that ability. So I do believe it's the modern world that disables us.