Other Neurodivergent vs neurotypical

[KayW]

It’s simply grouping people together who are on the spectrum, which relates to a specific way that a person brain works in relation to particular types of stimulus response.

I will respectfully disagree with this. I have one child who is on the autistic spectrum and another child who has attention deficit disorder.

The characteristics associated with asd and add are so different that an umbrella label doesn't bear relation to how they may respond to particular types of stimulus at all - because they would relate to the same stimulus differently.

 

[Friday]

I will respectfully disagree with this. I have one child who is on the autistic spectrum and another child who has attention deficit disorder.

The characteristics associated with asd and add are so different that an umbrella label doesn't bear relation to how they may respond to particular types of stimulus at all - because they would relate to the same stimulus differently.

So they’re not more like each other (prone to meltdowns, and sensory issues, and obsessions/fixations, and emotional dysreg, and asynchronistic development, and intuitive leaps, and tremendous compassion/empathy, and being both above/below grade level, etc; and needing workarounds, and clever fixes, and compassion/understanding, early intervention, etc.) … than they are to neurotypical children? You do nothing for them to meet the indivudal needs & quirks of those disorders, because other children without ADHD & HFA don’t have those needs & quirks? Parents of HFA & ADHD children aren’t a relief / source of “Oh! That’s clever!” for you to interact with? Instead you relate more to parenting challenges of children without conditions/disorders?

The terms neurotypical & neurodivergent have LARGELY come from parents/parenting communities, who are making a distinction between themselves with their bright (but quirky/challenging) children, and parents with severely disabled children, and parents with ‘medically fragile’ children, and… neurotypical &/or physiotypical children. Even though the disorders & conditions in play (severely disabled, disabled/differently-abled, medically fragile, neurodivergent, & Neuro/physio-typical are VASTLY different? The challenges in raising those kids tend to fall into certain slots in the spectrum.

 

[Sideways]

The characteristics associated with asd and add are so different that an umbrella label doesn't bear relation to how they may respond to particular types of stimulus at all

Neurodivergent has been traced back to Judy Singer in the late 1990s. It refers to people whose brains have particular neurological responses with respect to remembering facts and patterns, as well as explicit cognitive focus. It was introduced primarily to distinguish between developmental disorders (which need treatment), and developmental differences (which simply need certain types of accommodation)

Yep, it looks different for everyone. And from the perspective of “does it explain or describe the person in front of me”? I agree with you - it’s about as helpful as knowing whether or not they’ve had their appendix out!

But in much the same way as fight/flight responses look different (in fact, opposite), the neurology, what’s actually going on in the brain, falls on a specific spectrum that is a variation of what is typically considered normal.

Like the dissociative spectrum, which ranges from normal daydreaming, to multiple personalities, it’s helpful for understanding only a very specific, neurological phenomenon. People who ‘fall on the dissociative spectrum’ experience that dissociation in vastly different ways, and from the outside, that can vary from seemingly totally normal, to flat out craycray (and not even a consistent type of craycray!).

Neurodivergence, as a term, seeks to recognise this divergence from the normal, and help the community (particularly mental health professionals and educational institutions, but also as broadly as the local supermarket) accommodate these differences that are occurring for people on that spectrum, without reference to the thing as necessarily ‘disordered’. Different, neurodivergent, rather than disordered.

Although the term may be used in a disparaging way by some people (such is the way with so many things relating to mental health), usually through lack of awareness of what it actually means, it has been quite successfully used to aid the development of methods that simply accommodate these neurological differences in response to stimulus, rather than perceiving people on that spectrum as having a mental health disorder that requires treatment and recovery.

 

[KayW]

@Friday if the term helps parents to feel supported then that's great, they'll use it and find support in others that choose to use it. I wouldn't want to take away from that, but it's not a term I like because it feels too black and white. There are many traits in both my children ( now grown up) that are comparable to typical as well as traits that are associated with add and asd.

The way I'm viewing the terms is with the sense that we've all got to be one or the other... Everyone must either be ND or NT with no crossover - that's the part I can't relate to.

@Sideways I can see the benefit of getting rid of the term disorder because it does have negative connotations.

 

[Friday]

The way I'm viewing the terms is with the sense that we've all got to be one or the other... Everyone must either be ND or NT with no crossover - that's the part I can't relate to.

totally fair.

Not the way I’ve ever seen that term used... “Normies” tends to be the phrase used in the us-or-them mindset… whether it’s alcoholics vs normies, ptsd vs normies, whatever (singular disorder/condition) vs normies. Normies be everyone who ISN’T, regardless of how much else they might be.

Neurotypical simply describes a child born without a neurological condition or disorder, the same way “Healthy” describes a child born without a physiological condition or disorder.

 

[Nessa7]

@Friday if the term helps parents to feel supported then that's great, they'll use it and find support in others that choose to use it. I wouldn't want to take away from that, but it's not a term I like because it feels too black and white. There are many traits in both my children ( now grown up) that are comparable to typical as well as traits that are associated with add and asd.

The way I'm viewing the terms is with the sense that we've all got to be one or the other... Everyone must either be ND or NT with no crossover - that's the part I can't relate to.

@Sideways I can see the benefit of getting rid of the term disorder because it does have negative connotations.

It isn't just the opinion of parents that matters. Neurodivergent people get to choose what terms they use for themselves, too.

 

[Teasel]

I like the term, also neurospicy. Each to their own tho hey.

 

[KayW]

It isn't just the opinion of parents that matters. Neurodivergent people get to choose what terms they use for themselves, too.

Of course. Parents came up in that post as Friday was making a point about parents.

There is also choice for people not to like the umbrella term and to choose diagnostic terms, or to choose to categorize themselves as there own unique mix of individuality.

 

[silverlinings1069]

There are so many differences between conditions that come under that umbrella term that it wouldn't really help anyone understand someone any better. If people use the term related to their diagnosis, such as ADHD, ADD, autistic traits... to non- verbal autism etc, then that enables people who need to understand them better to learn about that condition.

I like the term, also neurospicy.

I love this is one. I think it actually fits me better.

There is also choice for people not to like the umbrella term and to choose diagnostic terms

That is true, but for the purpose of this post I am information gathering rather than opinion gathering because this is all new to me. I understand not everyone is going to like it or agree with ND/NT but before this post I had no idea I could use ND/NT. I had no vocabulary at all to help me. I was lost, completely lost, and alone. I have struggled with explaining myself. You may like to use the correct diagnosis terms for your children but as a grown adult, I have too many diagnoses to explain. No one is going to want to sit there for an hour as I tell them and explain each and every diagnosis I have. For me, NT/ND has opened a door I didn't even know was there to help me. This has given me the option to use it just as you have the option to use something else. I am trying to gather information so I can correctly and efficiently explain myself to anyone. I prefer efficiency. Thank you for your post and your point of view. It has sparked a lot of talk that has been very helpful and educational.

“Normies”

That is what I have been using for a few weeks as I read about somewhere. Is it considered derogatory?

 

[Friday]

That is what I have been using for a few weeks as I read about somewhere. Is it considered derogatory?

Depends on the tone of voice used… it’s most often used in an exasperated “Normies just don’t understand what it’s like to be _______.” (In a wheelchair, an alcoholic, dealing with depression, a club kid, an amputee, OCD, different, etc..).

It’s a very US -vs- THEM term, used by virtually every single minority on the planet that sees themselves, or is seen by others, as “not normal”. Each group ALSO -usually- has a super derogatory term (or 6) for “them”, as well as polite-but-clipped, descriptive/funny, everyday parlance, scientific, & überPC terminology.

“Normies” falls somewhere in the middle of the arc in describing other people in the out-group. It’s a bland whitewash of “them”, with a soupçon of disdain.

I like the term, also neurospicy. Each to their own tho hey.

I adore this term as much as I was delighted by neurodivergent in the 90s. Now? Neurodivergent is just normal parlance, and has lost its sparkle. Useful, but not Aha!!! That’s IT!!! 30 years of using a word though, will make almost any word flat.

 

[Deleted member 42984]

It’s a statistical fact that most people diverge from the average (most people have more arms than the average etc), so being divergent is infact the norm. The degree of divergence varies of course.
The trick is to learn to navigate this mess of divergence

 

[Sideways]

so being divergent is infact the norm. The degree of divergence varies of course.

Difference is normal.
But not every person falls on every spectrum.

It makes a lot of sense to me that a person who does fall on the neurodivergent spectrum would want to understand what that’s about, as a way to better understand themselves.