This post isn’t to exclude anyone or anything, I’m just curious how people understand the term.
According to the Cleveland Clinic:
People who identify themselves as neurodivergent typically have one or more of the conditions or disorders listed below. However, since there aren’t any medical criteria or definitions of what it means to be neurodivergent, other conditions also can fall under this term as well. People with these conditions may also choose not to identify themselves as neurodivergent.
- Autism spectrum disorder (this includes what was once known as Asperger’s syndrome).
- Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). […]
I think, as someone who was diagnosed with ADD when young and Asperger’s in my 20’s, the term applies. But I’d much rather be called Neurodivergent than other labels, if I had to pick one.
Saying to someone “I’m considered neurodivergent” makes more sense to me than saying “I might be on the Autism Spectrum, depending on who you ask.”
I think there’s also a lot of liminal space inbetween different diagnoses where people might otherwise need to say “I might have ADHD or maybe I’m autistic, or maybe both, but it’s hard to say” and “I’m neurodivergent” might be a frankly more useful way to describe the situation.
