So Is Everyone Neurodivergent Now? Late in Life Diagnosis
- Carolyn Morris, LCSW
- 6 days ago
- 4 min read
It seems like everyone is getting a new diagnosis later in life. You hear people talking about it all the time. They just found out they have ADHD or they are Autistic or they just discovered the lasting impact their trauma had on them. It's so common it almost feels like a fad - and skeptics like to suggest that it is.
But the thing is, these are not new diagnoses, and this is not a new fad. The clinical community has known for many, many years that trauma impacts how people function both at the time it is happening and later in life. We have also known for a long time that some people seem to think differently and interact with the world differently than others even if we didn't have a consolidated way to identify the similarities amongst them.
If it's not a fad, then why are so many diagnosed now?
What has changed is our ability to identify these differences more effectively.
There are many factors that impact why so many people are now getting diagnosed with neurodivergence - the exposure of gender bias, the improved communication and consolidation of data sources across the world, and improved access to healthcare resources come to mind for me.
Many times in history, and sadly still today, women are excluded in the research, design, and implementation of nearly everything from car airbag design to efficacy and side effects of medications. (Read Invisible Women: Exposing Data Bias in a World Designed for Men by Caroline Criado-Perez for more horrifying data on that). With that exclusion, there is a gap in the information for efficacy, efficiency, and usefulness, and plenty of opportunity to miss the differences in the way a difference in brain wiring can show up for women and girls.
As our world becomes smaller with the rapid increase of information and connectivity, we are also able to consolidate data from a variety of studies to show that what one is researching on one side of the world, may actually be the same thing another is researching using different terminology. With connectedness we have been able to refine the diagnostic features and create a common language across the world to describe how these conditions appear. (Read Neurotribes:The Legacy of Autism and the Future of Neurodiversity by Steve Silberman for a fascinating history of Neurodivergence).
Additionally, with ever-growing advances allowing more people to access healthcare, we are able to identify more people who show these neurodivergent aspects. When healthcare is inaccessible, these folx go unidentified and thus underrepresented in the data collected about similarities, trends, and treatment efficacy.
What is neurodivergence?
Neurodivergence, as a concept, is somewhat new for the average person. It describes differences (divergence) in the way some people think, solve problems, and experience the world. It has long been assumed that the majority of the world thinks and experiences things in a similar way - that most people are neurotypical. However, in the past few years there has been an increase in recognition of these differences in brain wiring, calling into question - what is "typical?"
What Is It Like?
About a year ago, I was scrolling through social media and the algorithm sent this video to me. I was struck by the metaphor outlined in this video by Courtney Carini, an ADHD coach with a strong presence on social media. (You can find her here)
For me, what sticks out in her metaphorical story is that no one else recognizes that she is driving a different car. No one suggests to her that she is working with different technology and different performance expectations. This resonates so well with having an undiagnosed neurodivergence because the world assumes neurotypicality - they assume her brain works just like their brain. Because of that, they teach in the way that makes sense for their brain, they organize the world in the way that works for them, and they offer accommodations that are helpful to them, rather than what she might need.
Projection Bias
This assumption that others need what they need or feel how they feel is called projection bias and is more common than you think. From how we are taught, to the expectations for work, to how we treat others (they way WE want to be treated?) the bias is there being projected onto others, assuming that is what they need.
Where does the grief come from?
For many people who struggled with a stick-shift Chevette, when every one else had a Tesla, there is deep sadness and grief at the years of feeling broken and incompetent. There is a sadness for the youth that didn't feel good enough, and likely for the adult who still suspects it. There is also a sadness for all the lost time that could have changed the course of their lives if only the neurodivergence had been recognized and worked with, to maximize benefits.
Does this sound familiar?
If reading through this has you starting to question your experience, check out this site to explore more information and click here to do a quick self-screen for ADHD/ADD.
The video in this post was shared with permission from Courtney Carini. If you think her experience sounds familiar to you, connect with me to schedule a consultation and see if we would be a good fit in working together toward a smoother tomorrow.
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