skye it/its 🏳️‍⚧️Nov 29, 2022

one of these days im going to talk about how the idea of discrete, neatly identified, clearly seperate neurodivergencies as defined by diagnostic manuals does a lot of harm to people trying to figure out their brains.

"am I REALLY autistic or am I only VERY MUCH LIKE autistics?" should be a question as unnecessary as "am I REALLY gay or am I only having all the same experiences as gay people"

Show threadskye it/its 🏳️‍⚧️Nov 29, 2022
but here we are, in a world where both these things have been medicalised and separated from the person, which is seen as somehow an entity separate from all the worldly failures of their body and mind... which all feels like a very christian idea of a "soul", a core of a person that can be freed from everything that society thinks is wrong with it
Show threadskye it/its 🏳️‍⚧️Nov 29, 2022

in queer identities, we have fought for the space to embrace chaos. unclear identities. changing your mind. changing as a person. mixing and matching words until something sounds right.

that is where we have to get with neurodivergencies.

"but you can't become ADHD later in life!"
"you can't be 'a little bit' borderline!"

and, pray tell, why the hell not? every argument for this is a tautology. because that's how we have defined it. not long ago it was impossible to be both ADHD & autistic

Show threadKai OceanNov 29, 2022
@skye This is helpful. My brain certainly seems to have done its best to develop ADHD later in life; I'm just missing a small amount of common experiences that may not even be so common among primarily-inattentive types.
Show threadskye it/its 🏳️‍⚧️
@puddleofchaos like there are SO MANY things that can change the layout of the brain and the way it works.
Nov 29, 2022 at 8:45pmWeb
Show threadKai OceanNov 29, 2022
@skye Makes sense. And there's so much we just don't *know* about the brain in the first place!