#like fr

If I read one more (unnecessary!) fight about how mental health disorders are or aren’t part of neurodivergence, I’ll start chewing furniture!

This is just personal experience: but guys – for me, most confusion about neurodiversity/neurodivergence as a topic arose from how we often still don’t clearly separate terms like ‘neurodiverse’ and ‘neurodivergent’. Not even within the community. Or when it wasn’t clear where the reasoning was based (socially/medically). For me, that’s exactly where things (still) get tricky.

Like, for example, the discussion (at least in German-speaking countries?) about whether ADHD is a developmental disorder or part of natural neurodiversity. In theory, I get why both are considered true. In practice, I personally take issue with the term ‘disorder’ too. But less when it’s used in an only medical context to describe why symptoms significantly impair a person’s overall quality of life. With that, we’re back to how ‘being disabled’ and ‘identifying as disabled’ can be two quite different things, even among ADHDers. And why ‘not personally using the term disabled’ doesn’t mean that ADHD itself isn’t a disability. But I understand that this is a highly sensitive issue, above all where diagnosis and care depend even stronger on this.