My Takes

I was going to name this post Hot Takes but that's annoyingly clickbaitey, isn't it? I resist clickbait in a rebellious fashion and figured it would be hypocritical to employ a cheap title myself. Besides not many people read this anyway.

My daughter was diagnosed with ASD when she was 3. The diagnosis of ADHD was added at 6. ADHD cannot be diagnosed earlier, but I was not surprised when the results came. She has pretty bad Rejection Sensitivity Dysphoria, which I noticed at a young age, she loves novelty, and never needed as rigid of a schedule as one would assume from someone autistic. She has some scripts she gets upset about if they are not adhered to but overall she is fairly flexible. At 3, she started ABA Therapy (controversial I know but I want to discuss ABA separately and hers was laid back). The doctors recommended it so we had different therapists come in and spend 5 to 6 hours per weekday with her in our home. Getting her to school was a challenge. Her Pre-K was easy but they tried to throw her in a General class in Kindergarten and she was not ready. The experience was heartbreaking because the teacher treated my little one as if she were a wild animal and the school did not have the resources required by law to accommodate her needs. Luckily, her IEP was amended and she was transferred to a program that perfectly suited her needs. She is now in first grade. Her program here is amazing and she's doing well. The ADA law protects her by ensuring that the school has the infrastructure to accommodate her needs.

That's my background on top of the research I do as an individual. I have noticed that when it comes to the neurodivergent, there are two prevailing schools of thought:

1. The Romanticists: They say that being neurospicy is simply a difference

2. The Pathologizers: Say that neurodivergence is a disability and try to correct patients to adhere to current societal norms (which are ever-changing, but sure that works)

I don't feel any camp can convey the nuance necessary to have a full picture. I believe that ASD and ADHD are a mental disability. I believe that there must be a system in place to identify the conditions. There must be a good infrastructure in place to serve people who have been identified as neurodivergent. There should be therapists equipped to handle patients who are mute, semi-mute, masking, have RSD, or alexithymia. It should be easy to access those services for people drowning in anxiety or ADHDers who have an interest-based nervous system.

I also believe that one of the reasons people are more commonly diagnosed is that our societal structures are more rigid. I would imagine centuries ago an autistic person cut trees in the forest, baked the village's bread, or farmed all day. Consistent seasons and a slower arc of industrial progress seem like a perfect recipe to thrive better. I truly think that the information age for a neurodivergent person is like turning on a fire hose and trying to use it to give someone a sip of water. I think the entire population is suffering to some extent due to cognitive overload but the effect is more severe for those who process a lot as it is.

This went a lot longer than I hoped haha... I ramble too much! I might stop here and do a part 2 at some point or other. I just really feel that many thoughts on neurodivergence are not considered in a holistic, individualized way. But that is to be expected since it is a growing thing. I hope in time, the conversation around autism, ADHD, etc is captured in a more nuanced way. Away from the echo chambers and respected for its complexity.

Thank you, for attending my TED Talk 😉