Neurodivergent Archives - More Than Quirky

Patient Safety: Being Heard

September 17, 2024

September 17th is World Patient Safety Day. While this generally continues to be an area that is improved worldwide, the experience for many neurodivergent people is not always protected by the policies in place. Many neurodivergent people report negative experiences regarding healthcare, including being ignored or dismissed, medical gaslighting, being patronised, misdiagnosis, and not being taken seriously particularly in relation to pain levels. One aspect of patient safety is the initial step of being heard,[…]

The Umbrella Term: Are Neurodivergence and Autism the Same?

August 20, 2024

The term “neurodivergent” covers many, many neurological differences. It is not a synonym for autistic, nor for ADHD. However, it does cover these neurotypes and therefore saying “Joe is neurodivergent” if Joe is autistic is accurate. That doesn’t mean, however, that you are being clear and specifying that Joe is autistic. You could equally be assumed to mean that Joe has depression, or Joe is dyspraxic, etc. “Neurodivergence” or “neurodivergent” have increasingly been used as[…]

Language and Terminology

February 29, 2024

An element of becoming part of the neurodivergent community is recognising how rubbish society is, in general, at using appropriate language and terminology. Using neurodivergent and neurodiverse interchangeably. Tending to use person-first language. Confusing “support needs” with “severity”. Most of the time it is not done with malice. Often the mistakes are even made with active good intentions – in most disability fields, person-first language is preferred, for example. I made many of these errors[…]