I want to say a few words about labels and neurodiversity.
Recently, I've seen a lot of friends and family finding a lot of power in self-describing as autistic, ADHD, or similar. It's amazing to see how much that can help people. 💕
In part, it's a huge shift for me, because "autistic" and "ADHD" have been thrown in my face a lot as accusations rather than descriptions, as pathologies rather than empathy.
I'm happy to make that shift, though, given how helpful it can be.
At the same time, I'm not sure I'll ever find the same power for myself, at least not in those words. Those kinds of labels have far too often been used to hurt rather than to heal.
That makes it hard for me, watching analysis of power shifting to reclaim those labels.
Long story short, I am glad that we can shift language in a way that helps heal and build empathy, but it's an imperfect process that will never include all of us — being aware of that can help that reclamation work rather than become another form of coercion.
Cassandra Granade