Month: October 2024

Autism is not a Trend

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A photo of a hand holding a white smart phone with social media app icons across the top of the screen. The apps include Facebook, Snapchat, Instagram, Twitter.

By Yamila García

For a few decades now, the number of people diagnosed with autism has been increasing significantly (see this statement from the Autism Self Advocacy Network for more information). With this increase, social media has been filled with comments claiming that autism is now ‘a trend’ and that ‘everyone has autism.’ You can search for yourself to find examples of this. Every time I see this, I get angry and wonder why people who haven’t  done research on the subject feel so free to spread this misinformation. It’s frustrating to see how reality can be given a positive or negative meaning depending on who looks at it.
First, I would like to address the increase in diagnoses. Isn’t it obvious that if science advances in many areas, allowing the detection of new conditions and genetic changes, and the creation of new treatments, it also advances in the quality of neurodivergence diagnoses? It is well known that early diagnostic criteria led to higher diagnosis rates in men, and then, with advances in understanding of autism, professionals were able to identify it in women as well. Probably, and by simple logic, we will also find more people with certain allergies and many other conditions, simply because science and technology now allow it. People very close to me have had recent medical diagnoses as adults, after living their whole lives without knowing it, because medical checks weren’t advanced enough before to detect them.
On the other hand, I also wonder why someone’s diagnosis might bother others? Why does it bother anyone that more people are gaining clarity about who they are and how they function? There is no conspiracy behind it. It is not about anyone trying to sell a medication or treatment, because, in fact, not all people with autism require it. The increase in diagnoses has allowed many of us to better understand ourselves after years of suffering, misunderstanding, and guilt. Speaking publicly about autism and other neurodivergences has helped many people understand what they didn’t before understand about themselves. It has also made there be more understanding although there is still a long way to go.
Today, neurodivergents are a much larger community. Yes, we have more power and strength to advocate for our rights and claim spaces that, for years, weren’t available to us for one reason or another. So, to anyone who is bothered by the increase in diagnoses, I would say: whenever you don’t understand something, tell yourself: “maybe there is something I am missing,” and then seek to learn more.

High Masking

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A carnival mask covered in colorful feathers lies on a yellow background.

By Yamila García

A few days ago, I visited my doctor, and they asked me a question that got me thinking. They asked what “level” of neurodivergence I had. Although my diagnosis states it, I thought that by now, health professionals would know it’s not correct to talk about “levels” when it’s actually a spectrum. But what also surprised me was my response. First, I said what my official diagnosis states: “high functioning,” and then I clarified that, in reality, it is “high masking.”  

Since then, I’ve been reflecting on that almost automatic answer I gave. What was it that I wanted to clarify? The question bothered me, that’s true. Maybe that’s why I felt compelled to explain further, because anyone who asks that question clearly has a limited understanding of what it means to be neurodivergent. Responding the way I did, I think, was my way of acknowledging my struggles and giving them the relevance they deserve. It’s not that being ‘high functioning’ means I struggle less, but rather that others notice my struggles less because I am ‘high masking.’ 

My thoughts kept trying to make sense of all this, and I ended up realizing that even that outdated way of labeling neurodivergents had more to do with how much tolerance others needed to have toward us than with what we were actually capable of. It wasn’t about our ability to do and achieve things, but about how much our environment had to adapt so that we could fully use our abilities. For many years, the movements for inclusion and awareness of neurodiversity were led by people who were not neurodivergent themselves. Seeing more neurodivergents now involved in education, communication, politics, and other areas gives me hope that perhaps in the future, it will no longer be others determining and labeling us. 

Disconnect

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A clear box full of orange elastic bands sits on a table.

By Yamila García

One of the biggest difficulties I go through every day as a neurodivergent person is explaining to others how I perceive and experience the world around me. On the one hand, I usually have very clear and organized ideas in my mind, but when I try to communicate them, they become a mess of confusing thoughts that are not at all clear to the listener. There is a disconnect between what I think and how I manage to communicate it, and the only way to “fix” this is with pre-made sentences based on what I have learned from listening to others in situations where they want to express something that seems similar to what I’m feeling. Yes, it is not my natural way of communicating, but it is the way that others understand and that ensures I am not misunderstood or misinterpreted. The problem with this is that often the way others express things lacks the intensity with which I feel or experience life. Their experiences are usually quite far from mine, which makes my explanation seem reduced to something much less significant than it really is. 

On the other hand, I think it is also extremely challenging to explain things to others when they differ so much from their own experiences. Naturally, this makes it very difficult for them to understand. Just as I think it would be difficult for a neurotypical person to explain to me how they manage to speak in front of five people without getting anxious, getting stuck, or saying things they don’t want to say. It probably comes naturally to them, and they don’t think about it as much. At the same time, any explanation they give me is going to be hard for me to fully grasp. I can understand that I don’t understand because of how big our differences are, but truly understanding what the other feels is a great challenge when we live with such different ways of processing, thinking, and perceiving. 

 I know that others’ understanding of me does not depend 100% on my ability to explain, and maybe that is what frustrates me the most, because many times I have felt that I would give anything for others to really understand what I feel.