Why is everyone suddenly neurodivergent?

I am Brazilian and my lack of social skills contributed to me being diagnosed early as German

There's definitely a fine line between normalization and romanticization, I've found it helpful to not consider my neurodivergent traits "weird" but it also feels odd to call them especially "good", they just are and I'm just me

"I think that's wrong, I'm really just rude, or German" Wow, that had me in tears.

In Australia the Intelligence organisation ASIC realised many people with ASD were perfect for Intelligence jobs but were struggling to get past the application process which was based upon traditional hiring processes... so they changed the application process.

Sabine’s sarcasm is everything…. “I've been told I'm rude, arrogant, talk like a robot, am about as empathetic as a brick and similarly spontaneous but considerably less social. I think that’s wrong and I’m really just rude or German, but then I repeat myself.”

As a Dad with a 19 yrs old severely autistic son, what happened to him was the paras in school treated him like a boy who just wasn't trying to apply himself.They were confrontational towards him. Made his life and our life hell, until we realized they were ill-equipped to help him. He dramatically improved once we took him out of that special ed class. Wasted two years of his high school, and did major damage to his development. Don't always trust those who say we know best.

At school during the 1960s, I was called lazy. Once, when I did (very) good work, I was asked "who wrote this?" When I answered that I did, I was told "you couldn't have". Then my mother took me to do an IQ test, and they simply refused to believe the result. Saying that I still feel bitter about this after 55 years is a colossal understatement.

I got diagnosed at 24 and have also worked with people with autism (mostly "high functioning"). In my (limited) experience only those who are considered "rude" are able to hold down a regular job for a long period of time . Those who can mask well are generally so anxious and exhausted all the time they have trouble functioning. Masking is such a tiring activity while also so well integrated we can't turn it off anymore. There may be a middle ground, but it seems more like a scale to me. More masking, less energy. I'm not a researcher or a doctor, but I have serious doubts that diagnosing kids at a young age and teaching them to mask better is doing anyone any favors. I'm not against giving children with autism extra assistance, but too many of them seem to focus on "how to appear neurotypical". It's like teaching depressed people how to smile more.

I actually have spent a lot of time thinking about the topic of being german or autistic .. I know it was a joke, but seriously there is a social/cultural aspect of autism that makes it easier for autistic people to fit into a specific cultural context. For example, german people are said to be more bold, even rude, direct and say what they mean (especially people in the north). Theyre said to rely less on social cues and implied requests and respond more to direct suggestions and say what they want. A typical example is how it is considered polite in some countries to reject an offer a few times before you accept it. Like being asked "Do you want a piece of cake?". Germans are generally more likely to just answer the question. That doesnt mean all germans are like that, but its just more common here than in other parts of the world. I haven't come to any conclusion on what that means though. Are some germans more autistic? Or do we just respond better to autistic needs? Would it be possible, since autism also has a genetic component, for some regions to have a higher prevalence with people on the spectrum, but less diagnosis because its easier for autistic people to fit in? I think about this a lot.

I was gaslit all my years to believe there’s nothing wrong with me when there clearly was. Because I “look” and “seem” normal. Now in the process of getting an ASD diagnosis after a massive meltdown and I’ve jumped from therapist to therapist until my current one noticed the signs right away because she works a lot with ASD people. She was the first to take me seriously and not push my symptoms to anxiety, depression and such. I even told a previous screening therapist that I suspected I have ASD but she brushed it off, whilst my current noticed it within the first 5 minutes of talking to me and helped me with the referral. Just because people seem normal, doesn’t change the internal struggles we face every single day.

I was diagnosed 7 years ago as an adult. I was told that under the new guidelines I have ASD (Autism spectrum disorder) but that under the old guidelines, I would have been considered to have Asperger's, confirming what you said. The specialist who diagnosed me then told me that in about 20 years, there will be no such thing as autism at all because everyone will just be considered "individuals and different". That sounded rather stupid to me as a lot of people with autism need extra help with certain things. I could have definitely done with more support when I was younger, I can tell you. So I'm not sure what to believe anymore. I feel that yet again, politics has crept into healthcare and does not favours to anyone in the process.

I went to Brisbane (Australia) last year to work over winter, and I was surprised to discover 80% of men at my work claimed to be neurodivergent. I was chatting to an intelligent person outside work who studied psychology as part of her master's degree, and she explained that therapists and psychologists in Australia just want to make money off these neurodivergent tests, treatments and therapy sessions, so they basically tell everyone they're neurodivergent so they can profit of it!

I worked in a school for children with Autism and Down's Syndrome. While doing some flashcard math with a 6 year old child sitting across his desk from me wrote the answers upside down and backwards so I could read them.

Not long ago, left handed people were ostracized. I'm ambidextrous and was forced to use just my right hand in elementary school. Some of my teachers would literally get pissed off when I'd go lefty. It's interesting observing how perspectives change.

For a "rude" person, she has an awful lot of fans and friends. I think she's charming

I love your dry humour, and I can`t detect any rudeness. You have a way of speaking, which makes it easy for me to follow your content. Thank you, Sabine.

I wish i could have seen this episode four years ago. My wife is undiagnosed but is certainly on the spectrum. It took me some time to put it together and I feel bad about how hard things were when they didn't need to be. At the time I thought she was the problem... I now know that my misunderstanding of her masking or mimicking was the impetus of our difficulties. Her answers were an approximation of what she thought "regular people" would say or wanted to hear. I thought she was mocking me, and I would get sooo frustrated. We now both know how to make sure the other understands exactly what they need to understand. I'm so glad we made it out the other side, she has made my life so much more interesting and full I can't imagine living without her.

I'm autistic and was diagnosed at the age of 27. Since my diagnosis I feel significantly less anxious and more accepting of myself. I'm probably good at masking and that's why most people didn't see it. The more I go into detail of what's going on inside my head and what I actually think and feel however, the more people tend to understand.

I might be autistic, but if I am I've basically just learned to quietly cope and function in society as a slightly-weird person. I break into song and dance while working, have peculiar tastes in food, and fixate on bizarre and specific interests only to redirect onto some other specific thing some other time. I've got a brother who is diagnosed with autism, and according to anyone who knows us I manifest more severe symptoms of it, but I've never been evaluated for an official diagnosis.

I'm 64 and still waiting for a diagnosis after a year on the waiting list and a lifetime of wondering what the hell was wrong with me. Others I talk to online have waited up to 5 years, so I can completely understand why people self-diagnose. I've reached I point where I don't really need anyone to tell me I'm autistic (but it would be good for closure, and to help relatives understand more). Far from romanticizing it, I'd say it's had a severely negative and disabling effect on my life. I'd even go so far as to say it's pretty much ruined it. If I could take a pill that would eliminate the constant burnout, shutdowns (which are absolutely hellish, especially if you don't have a name for it), problems with relationships, work (and therefore money), I'd take it in a flash.