The word “neurodivergent” was new to me when first seeing it applied to Gus, the son of Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz. The 17-year-old was caught on camera being tearfully excited about his dad being the vice presidential candidate.
As a teenager he was diagnosed with nonverbal learning disorder, attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and anxiety. Not familiar with the designation, I did what I always told our sons to do: “Look it up”. The evolution of the neurodivergent and neurodiversity designations can be fairly simple but also rather complicated.
A quick definition from the Cleveland Clinic’s article about neurodivergence is, “having a brain that works differently from the average or ‘neurotypical’ person.” Another reference, VeryWell Health, said, “The term is for when a person’s brain processes, learns, and/or behaves differently from what is considered ‘typical.’” Typical, you say? As Shakespeare wrote, “Aye, therein lies the rub.
” This article goes on to describe that what is called neurodivergence is now considered not abnormal or a problem, but says there are differences in how the brain works. It does not approach it as an aberration, but divides these differences into categories of methods of processing information. These have been considered disabilities in a society that uses words and phrases.
Historically the terms have devalued people by using disability language or descriptions of disabilities as an insult. In other words,.