I understand that drugs do wonders for many neurodivergent people.
But it didn’t for me and stories like this is why i am really worried about the sentiment in general.
You’re born neurodivergent, in a neurotypical world. Destined to feel different, to be perceived an outcast. To have the supposed norms of how humans are and behave not fit how you function.
But as a child and teen. What do you known about who you are? How humans are supposed to behave. You still have to learn it all.
So during this time of trying to understand yourself, the world, exploring your own personality. They recommend drugs that inhibit parts of your growing mental system.
And so you may mature and grow up, never knowing who you really are to begin with.
Alright but my neurodivergence makes the sun too bright, makes my clothes too itchy, and makes food taste too loud, and if they tell me they have a pill that can make that a little easier, then I’ll take it.
It’s not just a “neurotypical world”, I am disabled and I need a ramp to access places.
Sadly enough the pills rarely help with that, its usually made so you can “peform” like everyone else. (In my experience)
I definitely understand your sentiment, I struggle with many of the same thing.
The thing with perspective is, Imagine a world where:
Humans evolved to be more active during evening, night and morning because midday is too bright for everyone.
Where all clothes where made from no itch materials because everyone hates the itchy ones and therefor wont produce clothes with it.
The meal recipe tell you to add x because otherwise it tastes “too loud” and language evolved for people to have a mutual known understanding of what is meant with that.
Etc
In this world we would not be disabled, you would not need a ramp.
But this world is not any different from the one we live in now. The only difference is people like us being the norm therefore human culture adapts to those norms.
My favoriete example is things like a keyboard, it’s so obviously made for 2 hands. Not having 2 hands is a disability in context of a keyboard but we can just build a different keyboard. The keyboard is not the world. That we can build any kind of keyboard is the world.
This is what i mean with “neurotypical world” normal people don’t understand there are others that need things to be different so they never are. Even when they can be.
Anyway if you are an adult and medication helps you i am not going to object, you are your own expert a you know what is best for you.
I kinda agree just not fully, for instance for something like adhd you might get bored of something you really wanted to get good at, and your brain will just not allow you to do it. A regular person might get bored, an adhd person will be incapable of doing it for almost any reason. It’s a different and valuable way of seeing the world, but you would still be “disabled” in some ways, even in a perfect world.
Alright it just bugs me when people say autism isn’t a disability, or that it’s just society that needs to understand us, and actually the diagnosis is like how people used to view homosexuality as a disorder…
Like if you guys keep that up you’re gonna get my disability payments taken away.
Nothing we do is normal, every step of our lives is shaped by human made culture living in human made houses, working for a human made economy.
It is a “world” shaped by and for the majority norm, which by evolutionary dice is “neurotypical”
The example of an autistic world would be the same society but if the majority norm was autistic. Wed have building build by autistic humans for autistic humans. Wed design stores and public places to fit our needs.
Things would be catered to our needs instead of ignored.
Imagine if some human group survived evolution with still having a tail and has lived separate from us. Their culture might involve their tail. Some of their tools might be tail operated. If all humans had a tail except a few then this few would be disabled, but there not because the majority does not.
My point is, disabilities are very real. But their experience is not caused by the individual itself being broken/sick but by “how different” they are compared to the people around them.
I understand that drugs do wonders for many neurodivergent people.
But it didn’t for me and stories like this is why i am really worried about the sentiment in general.
You’re born neurodivergent, in a neurotypical world. Destined to feel different, to be perceived an outcast. To have the supposed norms of how humans are and behave not fit how you function.
But as a child and teen. What do you known about who you are? How humans are supposed to behave. You still have to learn it all.
So during this time of trying to understand yourself, the world, exploring your own personality. They recommend drugs that inhibit parts of your growing mental system.
And so you may mature and grow up, never knowing who you really are to begin with.
Alright but my neurodivergence makes the sun too bright, makes my clothes too itchy, and makes food taste too loud, and if they tell me they have a pill that can make that a little easier, then I’ll take it.
It’s not just a “neurotypical world”, I am disabled and I need a ramp to access places.
Sadly enough the pills rarely help with that, its usually made so you can “peform” like everyone else. (In my experience)
I definitely understand your sentiment, I struggle with many of the same thing.
The thing with perspective is, Imagine a world where:
Humans evolved to be more active during evening, night and morning because midday is too bright for everyone.
Where all clothes where made from no itch materials because everyone hates the itchy ones and therefor wont produce clothes with it.
The meal recipe tell you to add x because otherwise it tastes “too loud” and language evolved for people to have a mutual known understanding of what is meant with that.
Etc
In this world we would not be disabled, you would not need a ramp.
But this world is not any different from the one we live in now. The only difference is people like us being the norm therefore human culture adapts to those norms.
My favoriete example is things like a keyboard, it’s so obviously made for 2 hands. Not having 2 hands is a disability in context of a keyboard but we can just build a different keyboard. The keyboard is not the world. That we can build any kind of keyboard is the world.
This is what i mean with “neurotypical world” normal people don’t understand there are others that need things to be different so they never are. Even when they can be.
Anyway if you are an adult and medication helps you i am not going to object, you are your own expert a you know what is best for you.
I kinda agree just not fully, for instance for something like adhd you might get bored of something you really wanted to get good at, and your brain will just not allow you to do it. A regular person might get bored, an adhd person will be incapable of doing it for almost any reason. It’s a different and valuable way of seeing the world, but you would still be “disabled” in some ways, even in a perfect world.
Alright it just bugs me when people say autism isn’t a disability, or that it’s just society that needs to understand us, and actually the diagnosis is like how people used to view homosexuality as a disorder…
Like if you guys keep that up you’re gonna get my disability payments taken away.
Disabilities being contextual does not invalidate their existence.
We do not live in an autistic world, hence we face daily challenges of all sizes. Your benefits are a compensation for these challenges.
wtf is an “autistic world”, a planet further from the sun?
Its not about the planet.
It’s about the society we live in.
Nothing we do is normal, every step of our lives is shaped by human made culture living in human made houses, working for a human made economy.
It is a “world” shaped by and for the majority norm, which by evolutionary dice is “neurotypical”
The example of an autistic world would be the same society but if the majority norm was autistic. Wed have building build by autistic humans for autistic humans. Wed design stores and public places to fit our needs.
Things would be catered to our needs instead of ignored.
Imagine if some human group survived evolution with still having a tail and has lived separate from us. Their culture might involve their tail. Some of their tools might be tail operated. If all humans had a tail except a few then this few would be disabled, but there not because the majority does not.
My point is, disabilities are very real. But their experience is not caused by the individual itself being broken/sick but by “how different” they are compared to the people around them.