This post isn’t to exclude anyone or anything, I’m just curious how people understand the term.
According to the Cleveland Clinic:
People who identify themselves as neurodivergent typically have one or more of the conditions or disorders listed below. However, since there aren’t any medical criteria or definitions of what it means to be neurodivergent, other conditions also can fall under this term as well. People with these conditions may also choose not to identify themselves as neurodivergent.
- Autism spectrum disorder (this includes what was once known as Asperger’s syndrome).
- Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). […]
I think, as someone who was diagnosed with ADD when young and Asperger’s in my 20’s, the term applies. But I’d much rather be called Neurodivergent than other labels, if I had to pick one.
I’m not sure why you call this gatekeeping. What I was talking about is whether people will get it. It’s like, if you’re talking to an arbitrary person and you’re referring to e-sports as sports, most people will be confused. Without any kind of judgment or gatekeeping intended, simply, most people’s concept of “sports” does not include e-sports. And simply observing that this difference in perception exists is not gatekeeping.
So that’s what I was curious about. If I say I’m neurodivergent as a way to quickly explain my situation, will people in general understand or be confused?
Sorry but my experience is that you will just have to explain what neurodivergence is. People in general have no idea. I once told my roommate I have ADHD and she had vaguely heard of it but I still had to explain it. She was 29. I’ve had conversations where I say things like “you should take neurodivergent people into account for this event/design/layout/schedule” and they will have this clueless look.