Nonfiction

Writing about neurodivergence is a challenge, because regardless of whether you are neurotypical or neurodivergent, it’s just plain difficult to explain to someone how your brain works, and the unique way that you think, especially when the person you’re explaining it to, has a completely different way of thinking and functioning. 

 

I think the best way to begin is by talking about context, and misconceptions, because when we talk about the ways that Neurotypical and neurodivergent people interact with one another, those are often the two most important factors in keeping the conversation calm and friendly. 

 

To a “normal” neurotypical brain, context is something that is given as background facts, but they’ve typically only need to use context within their learning environments, for example historical context to modern day events, or the context of a passage in literature. They view context as something to be used to give further information on broad topics, and to shed light on the lengthy background that leads us to where we are now. 

 

To a neurodivergent brain however, context is explanation. For anything and everything. If we make a mistake, misread a situation, or even if we want to relate to or bond with someone, if we want to let someone know that we understand what they’re going through, we give them our context, the explanation of how we ourselves got to where we are, we attempt to get across the idea that we have similar experiences, so that we can then try to help talk through a situation. 

 

This creates a huge problem when people talk about autism especially because neurotypical people tend to have a lot of preconceived ideas about what autism should and should not look like, and when autistic people who don’t fit those ideas, attempt to explain their experiences, Neurotypical people can often see that context as excuses, rather than an explanation. 

 

For many neurotypical people, the only experiences they have had with Autism, have been through mainstream media, which tends to only show the extremes of ASD. People grow accustomed to seeing the most challenging cases of ASD, where children have very visible social difficulties, or are so affected that they become non-verbal, struggle to communicate in any way, become physically violent, or need full time care. And while these cases are important to be aware of, they happen to be on the extreme end of the Autism Spectrum. 

 

Unfortunately there is no delicate way of explaining this other than to say that Neurotypical people are typically victims of propaganda in this regard. The propaganda is not necessarily un-true which makes it all the more indoctrinating, but it’s still lying by omission. The media shows these extreme cases of ASD, and ignores those of us who experience less debilitating symptoms, in order to promote the idea that Autism is a disease, that ought to be “cured,” and to scare and misinform parents, so that they think their children can’t possibly have ASD if they don’t exhibit those extreme symptoms. The reality is that these ideas are promoted by companies who have a vested interest in pushing those stereotypes. 

 

Autism Speaks is a great example. This organization claims in their mission statement that they are “dedicated to creating an inclusive world for all individuals with autism throughout their lifespan. We do this through advocacy, services, support, research and innovation, and advances in care for autistic individuals and their families.”  However upon a closer look, we can see the underlying truth. 

 

Autism Speaks continues to use outdated terminology like Asperger syndrome. This may seem like a particularly nit-picky thing to use as evidence against this organization, but let's look at some context  to why this is particularly important and shows how little this organization actually speaks for the ASD community:

 

• The term  Asperger syndrome (or Asperger’s), refers to high-functioning autism, or those on the autism spectrum who need less treatment or care than others. The name “Asperger’s” however,  has recently been widely phased out of use, due to the fact that it's difficult to distinguish if not indistinguishable from ASD level 1. 

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(There is a misconception that the term was phased out due to it originating within the Nazi party, and that the research done by its namesake Hans Asperger may have been inhumane, or abusive. This is not the case; Hans Asperger actually fought against the oppressive restrictions that the Nazi party attempted to place on ASD patients. 

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Hans Asperger’s research was motivated by his own life experiences living with high functioning Autism himself, and he was very protective of the children who were a part of his research. Any inhumane procedures done by the Nazi party to ASD patients during this time such as the forced sterilization or euthanization of disabled persons, for the T4 euthanasia program, was likely not something that Hans Asperger was even made aware of).

 

All of that being said, the term is still justifiably being phased out, due to the difficulty in distinguishing Asperger’s syndrome from low level ASD.

 

In addition, while Many people believe that “identifying” as Autistic, when you are not the extreme, causes a dilution of the diagnosis, and takes attention and care away from Autistics who have a higher need for that care. 

 

However Autism is referred to as a “spectrum disorder” for a reason, there are a number of different levels or functionalities that can be specified in an autism diagnosis,  and the use of the name “Asperger’s syndrome” to refer to something that is simply a diagnosis of high functioning Autism spectrum disorder, gives the average person the idea that ASD is an entirely different disorder than Asperger’s syndrome, and promotes the false narrative that Autism is only a valid diagnosis in extreme cases.