Blue Raven

neurodiversity and neurodivergence

In my last comment, I said that "[neurodiversity] became our "neurodiverse" and "neurodivergent," terms."

I think you're saying that this isn't an evolution but rather two totally separate terms, and people use "neurodiverse" and "neurodivergent" as separate words. I do not think this is correct. The PSA post that was linked has actually really added to my certainty on that. Assuming it's right, that person created the shift from "neurodiverse" to "neurodivergent," and they did so "because people were using ‘neurodiverse’ and ‘neurodiversity’ to just mean autistic," and that's pretty good proof that they knew they were attempting to fashion a replacement. This is exactly what's happened.

Neurodiversity and neurodivergence are now used interchangeably, with neurodiversity being a less common and more old fashioned term. Here's a screenshot of what happens when you tag neurodiversity, which I think is also illustrative (id in alt):

So the term neurodiversity developed into neurodiverse and then neurodivergence. I'm a little surprised to see it was done so intentionally? But there you go.

i think sometimes people need specificity more than they need inclusiveness

But as I said, I think the development of the term is not useful. It puts a bunch of vastly different disorders under one umbrella for the purposes of inclusivity, and its development has replaced a more specific and useful term. People with neurodevelopmental disorders need their specific community terms for their own advocacy. And I think people who suffer mental illnesses and aren't neurodiverse can probably handle not inviting ourselves to their table so they can actually use their own terms for their own advocacy. It doesn't mean we can't support each other.

Three points, to break up the giant wall of text that is this paragraph, explaining why I find specificity important for the purposes of self advocacy, through examples of terms.

There are many disorders in which you might experience a panic attack, but in the late 2000s and early 2010s when suddenly everything was 'a panic attack,' I had the hardest time with nobody understanding what I actually meant. A term I needed to use to describe an experience had been expanded into highly inclusive uselessness. Now crying until you were exhausted was a panic attack. Now feeling any physical symptom of anxiety was a panic attack. You could say "I have panic attacks," and people to whom you said it had totally different—and way more "normal"—expectations of you.

People've had the same problem with talking about their 'triggers' too—what does that even mean now? If you're like me, you now feel ridiculous trying to use it and have no expectation of ever being taken seriously again.

It is getting to be the same now, I think, when someone says "I'm neurodivergent," and the people to whom they say that have significantly more normative expectations of them because of this expanded inclusivity. So does it help someone who has, for example, a phobia of spiders to say "I'm included in neurodiversity," more than it helps someone who has a neurodevelopmental disorder to be able to say "I'm neurodivergent," and be understood? I don't think it does, personally.

So... yeah. The idea that inclusiveness should be valued above terminological specificity isn't like morally repugnant to me or anything (just clarifying because I know what tumblr is like about that). It's a perspective, but it's not the only perspective, and mine is that the way we're using these words detracts from their purpose and is not helpful to the community who made them. (Singer is of course neurodiverse herself, too.)