In my last blog post I discussed the differences between those of us who are neurodivergent. I emphasised that despite individuals with the same diagnosis sharing many similarities, there are also so many ways in which we differ from each other. Some people believe that because people are so unique and many have overlapping traits with other types of neurodivergence, we should just have one ‘neurodivergent’ umbrella and that’s it – no specific labels. I do see where they’re coming from, as with neurodivergence there are many overlapping traits across conditions and it can be complex; co-morbidity, where the individual has more than one diagnosis, is also common. However, I personally feel that these separate labels are important and will explain why in this post.
Firstly, because everyone is so different, I feel that diagnosing everyone as just ‘neurodivergent’ doesn’t capture these differences between individuals. I think what people believe is that a ‘neurodivergent’ label would enable the individual to explain their personal strengths and weaknesses and to have these fully understood, meaning that no assumptions would be made based on a single label. In my view, the likelihood of coming across a situation where this would work is fairly small. There are many situations where you just need to be able to get across a brief explanation. Saying “I’m neurodivergent” and not having specific labels doesn’t quickly get across your strengths and weaknesses – there are a whole range of things they could be. Whereas saying “I’m dyspraxic” gives across more of an idea of what my strengths and weaknesses are and the person would (hopefully) realise that I’m going to have some sort of physical difficulty at the minimum. This might involve some assumptions being made but these could be brought up at another time if needed.
In addition, there’s the differences in ‘severity’. I know severity isn’t something that can be easily categorised with neurodivergence, it’s not as simple as that. But I’m talking about the challenges people might face as part of their neurodivergence. For example, my little brother is autistic and also has severe learning difficulties and I have dyspraxia. Whilst there are slight overlaps between us, we are generally affected in very different ways. If we were to only use the label ‘neurodivergent’ for both of us, that really wouldn’t be a very accurate picture of us as individuals.
Furthermore, I feel it may be helpful for individuals to have a specific label to understand why they do things in a different way. It gives the individual an explanation for their strengths and weaknesses and enables them to research, connect with others and share understanding. It enables charities to carry out vital work targeted at supporting particular groups of individuals. I also think labels are important when accessing specific support in settings such as education.
Of course many people choose to call themselves neurodivergent rather than telling people their specific diagnoses, which is absolutely fine, it’s up to the individual how they choose to describe themselves. In addition to this, some people might not be able to access a formal diagnosis. What I’m trying to get across is why I feel labels are important in the context of diagnosis.
I do believe though that it is important to recognise the overlapping traits across neurodivergence, which are often forgotten about. For example, the way my dyspraxia affects me has certain overlaps with autism – I’m a literal thinker and I find eye contact, routine change and certain social situations difficult. This is something that often isn’t understood very well. On the one hand, it would be nice to see this recognised more in terms of diagnosis, perhaps with something like ‘dyspraxia with traits of autism’. On the other hand, how can you determine whether the ‘traits of autism’ bit is because of an ‘overlap with autism’ or if it’s directly due to dyspraxia itself? It’s certainly an area which I feel there needs to be more research in to better understand the nature of overlapping traits. Despite this, I still feel that labels are really important. Without my diagnosis of dyspraxia I wouldn’t properly understand why I struggle with physical tasks and process information differently, for example. I also wouldn’t have met some of the lovely people I have or have had the opportunities I’ve had with the Dyspraxia Foundation!
“In my opinion, labels are important. They help you to understand yourself and explain your strengths and weaknesses to others, along with providing some amazing opportunities along the way.”
Natalie 🙂
