116 Examples Of Behaviors People Later Realized Were Signs Of Neurodivergence
Many people discover, sometimes much later than expected, that they are not neurotypical, often because the signs were there, but just interpreted as, say, a fun, personal quirk. So we’ve gathered examples of neurodivergent and ADHD traits that people thought were just “normal” behaviors for the longest time.
An important note, don’t diagnose yourself from an online list, many of these behaviors are not necessarily exclusive to neurodivergence. Settle in as you scroll through, upvote your favorites and be sure to share your own experiences and thoughts in the comments down below.
This post may include affiliate links.
âwaiting modeâ. if i have an appointment or something scheduled at like 3, my entire day will revolve around it. like i could wake up at 9 o clock and think no i cant watch a movie, what if itâs accidentally 8 hours long and i miss my appointment. i also will get ready for the appointment at like 11am and literally sit and wait until itâs time
I can't. It's like getting dressed up fancy just to sit on the couch or lay in bed. I fear if I start doing something else before the appointment I'll get so wrapped up that I'll lose track of time. I cannot plan any appointments after work. I'll forget about it last minute and go home, in autopilot. It has to be either during my shift hours because I'll be reminding when I have to leave, or just take the whole day off and plan the appointment for the morning, so I can get it out of the way, or plan it on the weekend.
Starting to clean an area, finding a thing that goes somewhere else, taking it there and seeing that area needs cleaning, start cleaning that area, finding a thing that goes somewhere elseâŚ.
Starting to.clean, finding a book, or a paper, or a map, and two hours later ...
I realized that, when someone tells me a story or something, I immediately think of a similar experience that fits to theirs and share it as soon as theyâve finished, which may come across as âme trying to make it about myselfâ, when in reality itâs my ADHD attempt to make them feel seen đĽş
Being completely calm in a crisis, but having a total meltdown over the smallest thing
That not everyoneâs brain was filled with random clips of music on a loop or a word repeating constantly or that sometimes⌠sometimes thereâs SILENCE in others peopleâs heads⌠like whaaattt!? My flabbers were ghasted
I wasnât diagnosed with adhd but is it normal to be reading a book and then realising youâre just thinking about something instead of reading so you have to go back.
I cannae read a book, laddie. No idea what the last paragraph said. I can read online fine tho, weird.
Constant music on repeat in my head. People can say certain words that are from songs I know and it triggers a new song to play in my mind. I will wake up in the middle of the night, and the music starts again. Itâs really aggravating.
Procrastinating, i honestly just thought it was something everyone struggled and I wasnât weird for waiting to do my school assignments until the night before they are due đ
Eating the same food over and over and over again... and liking it until you're sick of it. Then moving onto another type of food.
Took the exact same meal to work for about six years. Then I started to feel actually ill eating it. I have settled on a different preferred meal, but the time in between was traumatic and more than a few days going hungry because I'd open it and...oh god no. Colour, texture, things too mixed, I don't know.
Needing to have the captions on during a movie in order to hear better
Skipping ahead a few lines while reading then forcing myself to go back and read the now boring bit cause I spoiled the next bit for myself
Listening to the instructions, but not listening to them- because you need to see it done first and THEN told the instructions before it can âclickâ. đ
Oh yes, visual learning. Instructions are a waste of time, just show me once.
One ADHD symptom I thought was normal was needing pressure or urgency to function. I only moved when things felt critical, but went flat when things were calm.
I onky can act when something is needed, otherwise i just sit and do nothing.
The ADHD paralysis and shame spiral for my horrible, horrible housekeeping skills.
Feeling like Im being watched. Not in a paranoid "the govt is monitoring me" way, just always feeling this underlying feeling that Im being judged even when Im just standing in line at the grocery store
iâve seen other people say this who have ADHD & ADD, i donât miss people.. out of sight, out of mind.
Wow, I thought there was something wrong with me. I literally GAF about only a few people... others, I have to remind myself to check in on them, send them messages etc. It's not personal; I love them. I just 'switch off' from social mode at home and don't think about things not in my immediate vicinity.
Getting frustrated when people donât finish their sentences fast enough, or donât talk fast enough
This. And then they have the audacity to get upset because you deliver an entire paragraph in the time they manage a few words.
Hyper fixation on a hobby and buying EVERYTHING for it and 2 weeks later itâs in the craft closet with $1k+ of other crafting/hobbies stuff just collecting dust. I also know that I wonât ever be bored because all the stuff in the creating closet so itâs like a safety net. đ¤ˇđźââď¸đ¤Śđźââď¸
Piles. Piles everywhere lmao
This used to be me. I hated tidying and cleaning when I was growing up. My mom hounded me about it all the time. Since I've lived away from her, having to clean and tidy my whole home on my own, I do appreciate keeping it tidy on a regular basis so it's not so overwhelming when I decide it's cleaning day.
apparently there is "ADHD handwriting" where the letters look lazy at some points and sometimes it looks like it was written by different people bc we keep changing our letter style probs cuz we get bored đ
Eating the same food, listening to the same songs, watching the same movies. On repeat.
It gives your mind an impression of safety because you already know what will happen.
THE ANGER THAT BUILDS IN YOU HAVING TO REPEAT YOURSELF
over sharing to connect with someone. i didn't realize people thought it was being self absorbed. having multiple hobbies/projects. hyper fixation on collections, topics (reading mainly like h*******t, ancient Egypt, the tudors etc)
The amount of mental energy it takes to not jump in at everything people talk about should be an Olympic sport.
Hearing my voice in my head when Iâm reading, apparently some people donât hear any voiceâŚ.HOW CAN THEY READ đŹđŹđŹ
asking someone what they said and then immediately knowing as soon as they start to repeat themselves đ
Thinking nobody likes me and nobody wants to be my friend and I shouldnât call to hang out because then Iâm just bothering people.
Task paralysis. I know I need to do it, and itâs not even hard but I just freaking canât. đ
Talking to myself⌠it calms me down but people look at me crazy⌠I thought everyone did this
Not being able to focus on something if I'm not 100% interested in it
I call this free-will to choose to spend the time and energy on something I'm more interested in.
Getting unreasonably angry over minor inconveniences affecting your schedule (people walking slow, talking slow, blocking the metro doors, stopping in the middle of a hallway etc)
I get this and don't like it. I hate impatience from other people. I have it done to me when people think I'm in the way. It's a crappy feeling. So I try to remind myself to be patient and just chill. It's not easy, but I'm getting better at it.
I always have my brightness all the way down on my phone and notice how it affects my vision when itâs really bright
Interrupting people when they talk because you already assumed how the story will end (most of the times right)
It's because talking is such an incredibly slow method of information transfer, and...some...people...are...so...much...worse ThatYouCouldFitAnEntireThoughtInBetweenTheirWords.
Maybe not normal, because I knew other people did not do it, but knowing what is going to happen in series and movies, or guess what other people is going to say before they finish their sentence (not always right in this last one, though) because we are "aware" of patterns and just use them to fill out information.
I like to blurt out the lines in a scene when it's my first time watching it, just before they say it on the screen. Makes me feel like a smug wee b***h.
Misplacing everything all day after I just had it in my hand...
This is why I keep my keys on a carabiner that I clip to a ring on my purse.
Unable to watch movies without subtitles. Unable to understand verbal instructions unless provided written text or making notes so I donât forget.
A notebook can be very helpful - "Excuse me while I get a pen out, that sounds so interesting I really must make a note of it". Just, don't lose the notebook ...
Racing thoughts/music playing in my head at night that kept me awake for hours
remembering all negative things that happened to me on a loop randomly through my life. multiple times a week.
I do this at least once a year. It's accompanied by a lurking sense of dread.
Being able to hear electricity. âĄď¸
Running through social scenarios in my head just in case. for example "if the cashier asks why they havent seen me in a while ill explain I had lots of leftovers after going out"
Are those ADHD signs? Been walking into door jams & corners my whole life. Who knew?
Making random noises and repeating phrases that feel nice - my latest one is pizza pie (no idea why)
Recognizing in the moment that the thing I am stuck on doing is the thing thatâs going to make me late, but not being able to stop until itâs done.
and that is why we wait all day instead of starting a task if we need to be somewhere
Talking too loudly, too fast, dominating conversations and over-sharing đł
Deciding something only takes 20 minutes (when in fact it takes hours) while at the same time avoiding tasks because your brain has decided said task takes hours, when in fact, it really is a 5 minute task. Or when you doom scroll for â5 minutesâ that turns into 5 hours.
Putting things in very safe places and then forgetting where that safe place was. Four years later I still canât find the very safe place I hid my daughterâs bracelet charms.
Feel energy shift in different environments, conversations and people
Learning everything about an activity/hobby I am interested to include buying all the required tools. Map out a routine with an end of year outcome with quarterly, weekly, daily goals. Them, never do said activity.
Not wanting to wear certain type of fabrics/ clothing because it made me feel like a million tiny critters were running over my skinâŚ.now I understand đĽš
Having to have my sleeves rolled up exactly the same because my skin feels it differently. Textures, some clothes just make me feel like I'm dying.
Always and I mean always having a song playing in my head. Even when Iâm thinking of other things, the song is there.
People at work always called me âRainmanâbecause I remember every detail of something but I canât remember big things. I thought they were strange. Also, I hate turtlenecks and anything that wraps up around my neck and it seems like everyone else loves it.
Constantly needing stimulation but NOT TOO MUCH. if I donât have the tv or music or podcast on in the background my mind just wonât stop.
When I was living alone, I would sometimes have something in the background, the TV, radio, stereo, when I felt like I needed some noiseâ-not ear-splittingly loud, just enough to hear another human voice. But after I got married and my household started getting chock full of human noises, I started appreciating silence and alone time a whole lot more.
ADHD paralysis i knew i wasn't lazy just at times I couldn't get my self to do things and I didn't know why
Adhd Handwriting and putting pressure on my fingertips!!
My mind has always been faster than my handwriting, so it usually devolves into a scrawl, especially as my hand gets tired. I like being able to typeâ-and correctâ-my thoughts when I have to write a letter to someone. Itâs nice for me to be able to edit and tweak it before sending it, and they like being able to actually read it.
Object permanence. But also getting blind from objects that are always in the same place because my brain doesnât register them anymore
I have, numerous times, found items in my house that I swear I've never seen before.
Apparently your mind is supposed to be quiet and think one thought at a time. My mind was FLABBERGASTED when I realized that was normal.
I doubt one thought at a time is normal. That seems like a different disorder. One person I've known has said they had that and they are a psychopath - not in like a dramatic evil or bad way, just a psychopath.
I thought it was normal for people to always be thinking about something and I would ask my husband what he is thinking about and he would say nothing and I would wonder why he didnât want to talk about what was going on in his head in the background all the time. Then I learned in therapy not everyone has an inner dialogue constantly. itâs a symptom of my ADHD. I was just diagnosed this year. Iâm 27. đ¤
The other day I was doing the dishes and âNellie the Elephantâ was my current earworm. Halfway through I stopped to ask my wife if she knew the name of Nellieâs friend ( the head of the herd was Colin) She asked me why I was thinking of that and the answer is - well isnât it an obvious connection?
believing people were decent and were telling the truth. boy, oh boy did that one bite me
Unfortunately, this is a common mistake. The only person to avoid it was Robinson Crusoe - at least until Friday ...
Too much information thrown at me then shutting down as a result
Sometimes I can just soak it all in and get it right away, and other times I just get overwhelmed and shut down. I think it depends on the subject matter, and whether Iâm actually interested in it, have already taken a somewhat deeper dive into it, so already know and can relate to a lot of it, or not. If I find it stultifyingly dull, am just not interested in it, or really turned off by it, I can end up tuning out or getting overwhelmed because I just canât stir up any enthusiasm about it. Additionally, if you just throw a lot of orders at me and expect me to blindly follow them without knowing the whys and wherefores about them, youâre in for a surprise because that ainât happening without a ton of questions from me. Itâs the reason authoritarians and I do not get along. I question authority a lotâ-not from spite or hubris, but from interest and maybe, after gaining some good experience with, and understanding of, a task, seeing and suggesting a better and more streamlined way of accomplishing it. Authoritarians hate that.
that some people cannot see images in their mind? like extreme disassociation or maladaptive daydreaming. I can replay entire movies in my mind and see and hear everything like I'm actually watching in real time. apparently that's not the normal đŹ
I remember being bored on the bus home one day and watching the entire Star Trek TOS episode "Amok Time" in my head. People I told were so amazed!
Having one specific line of a song stuck in my head so often that every morning, within five minutes of waking up, I was like âoh thatâs todayâs anthemâ. And then it justâŚnever goes away.
Forgetting to close cabinets...being tired as hell all day then doom scrolling til 2AM...having 10K tabs open on my phone's browser...
Constantly tell myself âIâll clean the house today or imma clean the dishes (and then keep saying and saying it untill on a random day I CLEAN THE HOUSE AND THE DISHES RIGHT AWAY WITH 0 READON)
All of it. All. All of it! Not wanting to cook cus itâs too many steps, not wanting to clean cus itâs too many steps, not wanting to do laundry cus itâs too many steps.. only being motivated by having to.
I thought everyone had constant chatter/sounds or songs going through their head 24/7. Apparently that is not normal đ
the postural sway 100% I thought everyone could do itđ¤Łđ
Yep. My SIL was always saying, "You're making me seasick" if I was talking to her while standing because I sway *constantly*. Also, I can't keep my eyes closed unless I'm lying down because I'll fall over. Even in church, I have to keep my eyes open when praying or I start listing sideways.
Vocal stimming. I didnât even know it had a name. I thought it was just a habit
What is Vocal Stimming? Vocal stimming, also known as auditory or verbal stimming, refers to repetitive sounds or vocalizations made using the vocal cords, mouth, or throat. These behaviors can include humming, singing, repeating words or phrases (echolalia), making animal sounds, or producing sound effects. While vocal stimming is often associated with autism, it can also occur in individuals with ADHD and other neurodevelopmental differences. Verywell Mind +1 Purpose and Benefits Vocal stimming serves several important functions, including: Emotional Regulation: It helps individuals manage their emotions, providing a calming effect during stressful situations or sensory overload. 2 Sensory Input: The sounds produced can offer sensory stimulation that is enjoyable and grounding, helping to balance sensory processing needs. 2 Self-Expression: Vocal stimming can be a way for individuals to express feelings that may be difficult to articulate verbally, allowing for emotional release a
Having a conversation in my head first then blurting the other half of it out loud to my partner⌠or jumping to random topics
hearing absolutely everything at once and being unable to focus on singular sounds or just blocking it out which apparently is a thing neurotypical people can do
I hate it when I 'm supposed to be listening to two or more people talk at the same time. Can't do it. Please don't make me try, I won't understand what either of you is saying. And, please, no dominance games about who gets to yammer on , and who has to be silent. I'll choose ...
Needing to research something for days, weeks, months comparing each one on multiple different websites different models or years, learning everything about it. finding a YouTube video unboxing, how it looks. then how it is when it has a problem. Then if it is something that a lot of companies would make a case for that I could find that I liked. Whole time itâs a Nintendo switch. Or how it would look in my house like for tvs. I think everyone does this but after like 7 hrs straight or a couple days of that thatâs it but itâs like I canât I need to know Iâm right
Rejection sensitive dysphoria. I had no idea how people could just shake it off and move on.
Are they sure some of this isnât caused by conditioning? Like being socially awkward or just not strictly adhering to the accepted social norm, being constantly mistreated and/or humiliated for being different like that (by mean people, for stuff that nice people just overlook because itâs it fatal, and no one would ever notice if they didnât loudly point it out), which of course hurts like hell emotionally, then constantly worrying about being treated like that again for some trivial and unintentional faux pas. (Yeah, some neurotypicals can be downright cruel, though most are really nice.)
Adhd handwriting, forgetting things, being hyper for no entire reason, saying random things
Doing 5-7 tasks at once? I thought I was just great at multitasking đ¤Śââď¸
I suspect there's a difference between 'keeping several plates spinning' and 'steering the car while cutting your nails'. One is a sequence of activities, close in time, the other requires you to actually 'pat your head while rubbing your tummy'. What people call "multi-tasking" could be either of these; but I'd recommend leaving your nails till you get home ;-)
Having my best friends tell me about the coolest things weâve done together in past, and I have no memory of them đ wish I did
having layered thoughts constantly, maladaptive daydreaming, listening to a song/eating the same thing over and over till iâm sick of it, having âa thing about texturesâ, burst of motivation that cuts short randomly. the list goes on lolâŚ
The textures issue is real, especially regarding food. I like cottage cheese, but can only eat large curd. Small curd is repulsive.
Auditory processing disorder. I used to call it auditory dyslexia until i found out the actual name. I can hear people, i just dont understand what theyre saying cause it sounds like gibberish
My husband tends to mumble something he wants to tell me, without even getting my attention first, then gets frustrated because I misheard him, or didnât hear him at all. I have told him a hundred thousand times to be sure he has my attention and SPEAK TF UP if he wants to be absolutely certain that I heard what he said. Especially if thereâs at least one other source of LOUDER noise going on at the time, or my full attention is fixed elsewhere. If you just randomly mumble, youâre just taking a gambleâ-an a real long shot at thatâ-whether Iâll hear you, or hear you completely and/or correctly, or not.
Feeling like Iâm wrong all of the time.
If the OP was wrong all the time, then his statement itself must be incorrect. Therefore he is not wrong all the time. Making him wrong again.
Maladaptive daydreaming, being calm under enourmous stress and pressure but blowing up over tiny things that arenât a big deal, hyper focusing on tasks I find interesting but unable to start/do tasks I loath.
being able to actually read people. almost like knowing all the answers to a book...before you even open it
I can read the general foundation, but not necessarily the specifics. In other words, I might definitely know what kind of person they are, as well as their motivations, so can make some general predictions about them, but I canât necessarily tell you what theyâre going to say word for word, or do blow by blow, in the next minute.
Taking what people say at face value.
Mostly because you realize there might be so many layers to it, and you just donât want to waste time trying to figure out what they REALLY saying. Some people have the annoying tendency to speak in riddles, even when thereâs no point in doing so. They think it makes them look clever, when it actually makes them look like a******s. Just be straight with me, and quit making me have to work so hard to know what you mean, ffs, or I will stop giving a s**t about you and never talk to you again because youâre f*****g exhausting.
deep dives. I thought everybody took a deep dive out of curiosity every now and again.
being honest and authentic.
Remembering people's birthdays you haven't seen in 30 years. Knowing what year most movies came out.
Being able to physically feel music and sound. I never knew that wasnât normal. Found out I have synesthesia 2 months ago. I just turned 49 đ¤ˇđ˝ââď¸
Iâm 65, and only found out not long ago why certain musical types or works or passages give me the sensation of the hair on the back of my neck standing up, or raises goosebumps, or makes me feel out of breath, or simply gives me the sensation of actual physical uplift. Itâs because I truly feel it deep down inside of me, right down to my bones. For me, it doesnât happen with all music, so I donât know if thatâs normal or odd. Then again, maybe not liking certain types of music is the result of feeling it, but the feeling being really negative.
When ppl make small talk and I didnât know what to say so it became awkward immediately
Deconstructing food and not making direct eye contact with people. Also, maladaptive daydreaming.
Maladaptive Daydreaming is a specific mental condition. There is overlap with ADHD inattentiveness and MD, but it's not exactly the same. MD can cause an obsessive tendency to really immerse one's self in a fantasy they've created, blurring their imagination and reality, to the point the person with MD will think it's real. Basically, a state of delusion. Inattentive ADHD and MD both disassociate, hyperfocus, become unaware of their surroundings and what's going on, become angry at being interrupted, sleep problems.
I hip check everything. I'm suuuper clumsy. Always in need of stimulation, but can't be overly stimulated.
Everything is a soundtrack. The need to overshare. Having 400 tabs open on ur iPad. Listening to the same song hundreds of times. Waiting until the last minute to do everything.
That normal people don't ruminate over every task for twice as long as it takes to do the task. They just do it? apparantly, I guess.
They also donât realize weâre already (metaphorically) beating ourselves to a bloody pulp when we make a stupid mistake, so they really donât need to (metaphorically) pound on us even more. (I specified metaphorical beating so you wouldnât think Iâm referring actually being physical beaten for a stupid mistake, though that does happen too.)
Thinking so multidimensional and in layers all at once. The pattern recognition that comes w that caliber of thinking. Itâs very hard for me to have conversations w ânormal pplâ and Iâm working on how to articulate better to ppl
Being able to see more than one side of a conflict. Seeing a world that is not only not black nd white, it talks not just various shades of gray. Seeing it as being all kinds of colors and their various shades. Multidimensional. A hell of a lot more complicated and intricate and layered (and because of that, often more difficult to adequately explain), than most people do. Sometimes taking those deep dives into what seems to most to be just subjects that interest us actually helps us better understand the layering itself, if the subject matter we researched relates to the issue at hand (like for example, diving deeply into the history of a region helping you understand the various historical reasons for present day conflicts, such as past unresolved issues and conflicts that have been festering maybe even for centuries).
I smell everything I eat and if it even smells a tiny bit off I can not eat it. đŹđ My mom says looking back she can clearly see the signs but Iâm a 90s kid so đ¤ˇââď¸đ
Hypersensitivity, when I was younger I was diagnosed with ADHD and then I later developed 2 anxiety disorders. I thought having strong emotions and feelings towards people, environments, and words they say was normal. But I guess it wasnât.
Actually being a genuine person đ I learned the hard way people are not authentically kind or care about you
15 conversations with myself. All in my head. All,with diff character voices & faces/bodies. Also, not officially diagnosed, but I've read a thing or two.
Stimming!!!! My parents used to belittle & slap me for me doing it up into my young (mid 20's) adulthood.
consistently switching jobs đ
Thatâs mostly because youâre looking for a company where the vibe is one of acceptance and appreciation of other peopleâs quirks and differences, instead of judgement or ridicule of anyone who isnât a carbon copy of themselves. Those unicorns do exist, they just take a while to find.
being clumsy. It clicked so hard when I found that out. đđđ
My mother always said to me, "You're so onhandig" ('onhandig' is Afrikaans for 'unhandy', so basically clumsy). Then couldn't understand why I struggled with socializing in high school, and blamed me.
Knowing peopleâs intentions of what theyâre thinking and feeling, even though theyâre not acting like it, I thought everybody was able to do that until I realized that it was not normal
constantly being reminded how mean people will be to me, even though I always treated them with kindness, courtesy, and friendship - including family đ
Yeah, itâs amazing how many neurotypicals can be downright cruel, just because someoneâs different from them. TBH, if it wasnât for all the different people, whether neurodivergent or eccentric or whatever, the world would have no color, no glamour, no interest, no fun, no life. It would be f*****g stultifyingly dull to be surrounded by nothing but cookie-cutter sameness. But try to tell some of the supposedly ânormalâ people that, and see just how well itâs received.
âZoning outâ. I was getting called out by teachers for disassociating during class as a young child
"Pay attention" - as if it was a debt we had incurred. We're usually told this by teachers who haven't learnt to be interesting.
Losing a week if my daily schedule deviates from my normal routine
Reminds me of a cartoon I once saw. Kathy said, "I slept in so my day is ruined. My day is ruined so my whole week is ruined. The week is ruined so the whole month is ruined. The month is ruined so my whole year is ruined. The year is ruined so my whole life is RUINED !!
Just being extremely fast. Whether its walking, doing an activity or task. Telling a story iâll skip to like 5 side stories so pplnoften said I was bad at explaining things in a step by step way
Clinical psychologist here. BP readers PLEASE do not use this list of quirky behaviours to self-diagnose. One of the biggest frustrations I have as a psychologist is having people come to me and telling me they are neurodivergent because they compared themself to something they read on the Internet. A number of these descriptions don't even technically fit in as definitions of any characteristic of neurodivergence. It is always important to know the context - when does it happen, how often does it happen, how does it impact the person's functioning versus is something that is just "quirky." If you have been diagnosed by a competent clinician who has experience with neurodivergent people and is licensed to use the DSM (or whatever diagnostic manual is used in your area of the world), that is great. However, a friend, a colleague, or an article on the Internet is just a start. Just as you shouldn't use Dr. Google to self-diagnose medical conditions, please don't use Dr. Google for this.
The more I learned about autism, the more it seemed like me. So, I talked to my psychiatrist about it. She was the one who told me I absolutely am on the spectrum. I was 69 years old at the time. It's an explanation, not an excuse.
Load More Replies...People today complain about how "ADHD" and "autism" are overused. But IMHO that's still better than in the past when children were made to feel guilty and ashamed because for how these conditions made them act. It's not fun being told for 18 years that you're undisciplined, lazy, clumsy, socially awkward and "just to change".
Clinical psychologist here. BP readers PLEASE do not use this list of quirky behaviours to self-diagnose. One of the biggest frustrations I have as a psychologist is having people come to me and telling me they are neurodivergent because they compared themself to something they read on the Internet. A number of these descriptions don't even technically fit in as definitions of any characteristic of neurodivergence. It is always important to know the context - when does it happen, how often does it happen, how does it impact the person's functioning versus is something that is just "quirky." If you have been diagnosed by a competent clinician who has experience with neurodivergent people and is licensed to use the DSM (or whatever diagnostic manual is used in your area of the world), that is great. However, a friend, a colleague, or an article on the Internet is just a start. Just as you shouldn't use Dr. Google to self-diagnose medical conditions, please don't use Dr. Google for this.
The more I learned about autism, the more it seemed like me. So, I talked to my psychiatrist about it. She was the one who told me I absolutely am on the spectrum. I was 69 years old at the time. It's an explanation, not an excuse.
Load More Replies...People today complain about how "ADHD" and "autism" are overused. But IMHO that's still better than in the past when children were made to feel guilty and ashamed because for how these conditions made them act. It's not fun being told for 18 years that you're undisciplined, lazy, clumsy, socially awkward and "just to change".
