Neurodiversity
"Nobody realizes that some people expend
tremendous energy merely to be normal."
- Blanche Balain, recorded in Albert Camus' notebooks
The core idea behind neurodiversity is to recognize that there's wide variation in the way brains operate, and that specific forms of operation aren't inherently good or bad, but rather better or worse at working towards particular goals within particular contexts.
When aspects of society are arranged around inaccurate assumptions about how people's minds work, we shouldn't require that neuroatypical people change to be included, but instead change society to include neuroatypical people.
(Edited from the original)
Links
Autism
TVTropes: Asperger's Syndrome
Reddit: Inside the Aspie Brain
Coping: A Survival Guide For People With Asperger Syndrome - An interesting text written by an autistic guy in the 90s.
Neuroclastic: Is ABA dog training for children?
Youtube: Darius McCollum
Stimming
Defining Autistic Burnout
neurodiversity.com
Object personification in autism: This paper will be very sad if you don't read it (Liberate)
ADHD
Reddit: ADHD Pro-Tips
The ADHD Analog Brain
Schizophrenia
Schizophrenia for Writers
Open the Doors
Other
National Institute of Mental Health
Aphantasia: How It Feels To Be Blind In Your Mind
Institute for the Study of the Neurologically Typical
Stimpunks - "Mutual Aid and Human-Centered Learning for Neurodivergent and Disabled People"
Lexicon
neurodiversity: variation in the human brain regarding sociability, learning, attention, mood and other mental functions in a non-pathological sense
neurotypical: having a brain which operates in a way that works well within the current societal context one is in
takiwātanga: in their own time and space, autistic/autism
Memories
2024-05-18: "My mother just told me that her "autistic trait" of not being able to look people in the eye "went away" after "praying and communing with the Lord" and that I should do the same #thanksimcured" (Source)
2020-11-05: "For some reason, today I spent a disproportianate amount of time watching clips from horror movies I've never seen and reading about serial killers, despite avoiding all this type of shit up until now. It was an interesting natural outgrowth of my autism-rooted interest in other humans' minds." (from my journal)
???: I was first diagnosed with autism at age 12, after my mom recognized behavioral similarities between me and my also-autistic older sister. Back when she was diagnosed, my mom was suprised that she was quite happy as a result because she had previously thought she was a weird freak for no reason. As for me, I've fortunately just always had a natural calm acceptance of how I work, so I felt more-or-less the same before and after. In fact, the only thing I really remember from the process is that one lady asked my mom vaguely condescending questions about my potty-trained status. Such is life! (from my memory)