On the spectrum

[Tessa K]

They're not all conditions people are born with in your list. Alzheimer's definitely isn't.

Some people may be prone to depression or anxiety all their lives because of the way their brains work while others may experience them occasionally as a response to external factors. PTSD causes non-typical brain responses, how does that fit in?.

Some behaviours such as addiction or eating disorders can be treated - and in many cases cured - others can't. At best they can be managed, eg ADHD or schizophrenia.

So can some people have a kind of transient ND? I don't think so.

Firstly, it’s an interesting and as far as I know unresolved question as to whether someone was or was not born with some conditions. For example, the symptoms of bi polar disorder might not be obvious until someone is an adult, but arguably their neurology might always have been atypical. The same could be said for many other conditions.

But more importantly, I don’t see why it should matter. It seems to me to be ridiculous to to, for example, describe someone with agnosia as ‘neurotypical’. Their brain has been altered by a stroke and they can no longer recognise everyday objects. The same applies to Alzheimer’s, certainly someone may not have have had symptoms until old age, but it would also seem very odd to describe someone with Alzheimer’s as being neurotypical. Their brain is being altered from within with the result that, for example, they can’t form new memories.

Alzheimer's is a disease that affects the brain, not a congenital brain state. It's a completely different category. Not everything that affects the brain is a divergence.

Yes, some people's traits become more obvious around puberty but that's because of the brain interaction with hormones and other biochemistry bringing out what was already there.

[Boustrophedon]

It's a spectrum, that implies a continuum and not a 2 dimensional one at that. So given a continuum there will be no any hard boundaries, no dichotomies, so unhelpfully it must include everyone.

We all, I hope, accept Introvert and Extrovert as descriptors, whilst still accepting that there is a continuum between the two with most people somewhere in the middle. Thus we stray into arguments akin to the Myers Briggs discussion, some dismiss it for implying dichotomies, whilst others accept that there are no hard and fast boundaries, but that is is otherwise useful. Same goes for ASD, there are many dimensions many descriptors of the condition.

Then there is the 'Autism Plus' argument. This is mainly promulgated by articulate parents to describe their children who are diagnosed on the spectrum. Other people cannot tell their child is autistic because, they say, it takes an expert to tease out the subtle tell tale behaviours and the general public, you and I, cannot tell just by observing a child. Further they argue that those severely affected, quite visibly so, have autism 'plus something else'. Autism for them is a 'high functioning' condition with only mild social difficulties and lacunae. I have had to block some proponents of autism+ on Xitter for organising a pile on to me for suggesting otherwise. Hell I taught in a SEN school for years, but what do I know? As a general principle I taught all the children there assuming they were autistic unless proven otherwise, there being no downside to this, sometimes a diagnosis would come just as they were leaving in yr 11.

[Al Capone Junior]

Despite probably being 'neurotypical,' I'm probably also, albeit ambiguously, on the spectrum to some degree also.

[Tessa K]

The last month has been a rollercoaster, finally putting the pieces together, doing a ton of research and self testing and dealing with the outcomes. So, yeah, hello autism.

It's been hard thinking about how life would have been different if I'd known earlier.

It's mainly being around so many ND people in rhe last year or so that prompted me to do it.

I've learnt a lot about how it's very different for women in terms of diagnosis, social attitudes and unmasking.

There's been a lot of recognition from my research about my own behaviour/traits. A lot of 'Oh, I thought everyone did that'.

I also have dissociation (derealisation) and RSD.

There have been some tough, brain exploding moments but I'm slowly making friends with my brain.

One friend asked if anyone who knows me was surprised when I told them. Er ..no.