“You don’t look autistic.”
“You don’t look like you have ADHD.”
What the heck is that supposed to mean?
I feel like there’s so many people who still don’t understand what being neurodivergent actually is. It’s not a trend and it’s not all cutesy and quirky.
People who actually have neurological disorders struggle so much with the world around them and it sucks because some people aren’t always going to be very patient or understanding with you.
Let’s use ASD (Autism Spectrum Disorder/Autism) as an example. Some general symptoms of this are rejection of physical contact, sensitivity to loud noises, hyperactivity, inattention, and stimming, which falls into the hyperactivity bubble. Some people who are autistic may have all of these symptoms and some autistic people may have only a few.
It’s different for everyone. You could show many symptoms of autism and not be autistic, or you could show a few symptoms and be autistic. That’s what makes self-diagnosis so untrustworthy and strange because you genuinely could never know unless you get it diagnosed by a professional. Like I said, it’s different for everyone.
This also ties into the phrases I used in the beginning. Telling someone that “they don’t look autistic” is weird. Oh I’m sorry, I didn’t realize I had to be jumping around the room all the time and not make eye contact with a single person to be autistic.
The general description of the autism spectrum is disorders that affect learning, communication, behavior, etc. Some people may struggle with them more or less than others. Some people may stim more than others. Like I said, it’s different for everyone.
That’s why it feels discouraging for people to say stuff like, “Haha, my grades are so bad, it’s all my ADHD! I just can never focus!” And then in the end, it’s all just them looking for attention. People who actually have ADHD can’t control when they focus most of the time. We just let our minds vanish from the room without being aware.
Don’t treat disorders like a quirky habit. It’s genuinely disrespectful and telling people that they aren’t “autistic enough” or telling us to “just focus” doesn’t help whatsoever, because no matter what, your feelings are valid. Find the right people to support you on your journey and don’t let people discourage you.
