Looking at diagnoses as differences rather than disabilities. What are your thoughts?

Question

I’m watching GMA3 (an extension of good morning America, I guess) and they had Holly Robinson Pete as a guest to talk about neurodiversity, specifically ADHD. If you don’t know, Holly has a son with autism and has been a very large advocate for autism awareness. Holly also has a daughter with ADHD and the hosts of the show were talking about the large prevalence of children diagnosed with ADHD. 
Within the segment, I believe it was Holly who said we need to look at neurodiversity as just a difference in how people process things, as opposed to a disability. I wanted to bring this conversation here, as I think it can make a good discussion. 
In my opinion, I understand that perspective and not wanting to demonize neurodivergent people or frame the conversation in a way that makes it seem like something is “wrong” with them; However, having ADHD myself, it does feel a little invalidating as I’ve struggled so much with such rudimentary tasks. While it is true that neurodivergent people just process things differently and our brains work different, ADHD is a recognized disability when it severely impedes regular functioning. 
I would like to stress I don’t think Holly meant to invalidate anyone’s struggles. I think I’m just sensitive and took it a weird way lol. But I would like to have a conversation anyway regarding looking at diagnoses as differences and not as disabilities. A lot of people like to say to not let your struggles, disorders, and/or diseases limit you. Many in the disability community want to recognize these struggles to say “hey, these do affect us and we need a little extra help with certain things!”
Anyway, this is really long. Sorry. If you’d like to ignore the question and just take a second to bring awareness to any disability or struggle you have, please do so! I’ll be detailing my experience with ADHD in the comments.

Answer

To sort of express how ADHD has affected me both in childhood and early adulthood, I’ll list a few instances here. 
- School is the obvious one. A lot of girls with ADHD flu under the radar as they typically show ADHD in different ways. This wasn’t my experience as I have hyperactive and inattentive ADHD. I not only struggled with academics, but it was difficult socially as I was a bit different from other girls. Not in a “pick me” way, lol, but I was loud, abrasive, and impulsive. People usually associate these behaviors with boys as girls tend to be conditioned to be quiet and polite. I was often isolated from peers - okay, I’m gonna be real, I have a lot more to say about this, but I don’t feel like finishing this point. Lol. I wouldn’t typically say this, but this is how ADHD is and I want to exemplify how ADHD can be. Typically, when I get to the point where I no longer feel like finishing a written thought, I delete it all and completely give up on it. It’s like hitting a wall and just being done with it. This makes it very difficult for finishing school assignments, work tasks, etc. 
Okay ty for reading lol. I’m going to stop typing because I’m getting a little crazy and over sharing.

Answer

ADHD was an advantage in hunter gatherer societies because it allowed hunters to hyperfocus on prey while blocking out all other external stimuli. Whereas in our current society, being able to multitask and focus on several things at once is often valued and necessary. 
I totally understand what you mean about being invalidated but I also think it's important to understand your struggles are struggles within the context of modern society and how it has been defined and framed by those who are neurotypical.

Answer

I love this topic.
Differences are largely diagnoses due to how one may (or may not) be able to function in the context of our capitalist society… because we are valued (mostly) on how much we can produce.  Our purpose and livelihood become based on production.  
This is not ok and a huge struggle for anyone outside of the ability to competitively compete within society.
I believe labels and categorizations are helpful for our understanding, but I believe they can also become unhelpful if & when someone sees themselves as, or society sees them as nothing more than a label and further tries to “fix” something that is completely natural in human context, but not capitalist context.  So on one hand yes diagnoses can be helpful, but this is largely because we are so unaccepting and inhospitable to those outside the “normal” range of production.

Answer

I think the issue is many neurodivergencies are helpful in non capitalistic societies. Same with the ideology of being night owls and early birds. All of these things function to work us better as a group but in many countries the subculture is individualistic and performance based. School indoctrinates youth to act in a specific way or they are failures. Everyone is in a rush to get somewhere and because of the abuse people receive due to individualistic cultures, some see the traits of neurodivergency as abusive. For example, someone with ADHD may have a hard time completing tasks like chores or texting someone back so people will type cast them as lazy, slobbish, rude, etc. Some people with autism have a lot of trouble reading body language or have a really hard time understanding the social norms but because of everyone’s gotta go gotta go gotta go right now mentality, sitting down and explaining it to them and being patient is seen as a waste of time. 
TLDR: Essentially I think it’s hard because yes it is a disability to thrive in today’s society but if these cultural standards of efficiency weren’t so prevalent it would just be a difference.

Answer

I also love this topic! While I myself fo not have an diagnosis, I have a whole lot of experience and education on this topic along with personal experience with close lived ones who do have various diagnoses. 
In my opinion, I think it is helpful to have a diagnosis as a general category. So adhd, asd, fas, etc. Those are like the umbrella diagnosis to help me get a good reference point on what an individual is facing. Each diagnosis affects each individual differently and I think we have to keep that in mind!
I think you can say “neuro divergences are just a different way of processing” and also not be dismissive of the very real effects that neuro divergence had on ones day to day life.

Answer

I have ADHD too! I suspect autism also but do not have the funds nor time to see a doctor at the moment, so i’ll just focus on ADHD. 
No i do not care that it’s a disability. With the way society exists my ADHD certainly is impacting how i’m able to function, how i engage with others etc. 
the problem will always be neurotypical and/or able bodied people believe they know more about what’s best for people with disabilities. 
All too often i’m made to feel like asking for help re. ADHD is “too much”. I feel like ppl don’t actually take ADHD seriously enough either. 
Or like i’m a “good” person with ADHD if absolutely ruining my mental state in order to function the way everyone else does. 
Overall I just think able bodied/neurotypical people need to stop centring themselves in these discussions. Having a relative that has a disability doesn’t make you qualified to speak on these issues pertaining to the community. 
I think all y’all need to do is spend time listening and educating, and allow people with disabilities to actually be front and centre in these discussions.

Answer

Ohhhh, love this. 
I’ve been told I have ASD traits, probably on the spectrum, which is the lens I’m using.
The thing is…I’m able to function, mostly. I get burned out, overstimulated, etc. it’s hard. AND, I’m not incapacitated and generally navigate okay. I don’t identify as disabled by it. It can absolutely be disabling, though, and I find I need more breaks/time off than others. Yes, it’s a difference and it can be disabling depending on the society in which you live and your needs. I see a lot of, usually white women, on social media saying it’s “just a difference.” Yeah, okay, maybe for them, but for many they do identify as disabled by ASD/neurodivergence, especially if they are non-speaking or have unpopular behaviors or support needs beyond headphones. 
It’s reductive to say everyone with neurodivergence is just “different.” Some are disabled and unable to function in our society, which ties to ableism. 
As a parent of a kid with some sensory issues, I empathize with the idea that she’s just different, but I cannot ethically reduce it to differences alone in a capitalist/ableist/classist society. She shuts down with loud noises; it is disabling. I cannot handle chalk noises. I could not hear the teacher above the chalk. To say, oh my sensory overload is just a difference seems reductive. Yes, it’s a difference, but it’s not something my teachers would ever accommodate without a diagnosis…even then, good luck. When I was a kid, sensory processing disorder and ASD had huge thresholds and were largely unknown. 
At the end of the day, everyone regardless of diagnosis should be able to access supports and accommodations. Unfortunately, our system requires a diagnosis and some proof of need (e.g. of disability).

Answer

I feel like the intended message is likely the need to treat all people with dignity and respect. Suggesting that everyone needs to be thought of as having the same potential abilities is flawed or somewhat dismissive of the reality you (the OP) or really anyone is in. We are not all the same. From my POV it feels most productive to normalize people sharing their diagnosis and normalize talking about it and what it means to them without treating people as less then for the condition they deal with. Humans have individual circumstances and I don’t think it does any service to try to force the concept that we are all the same.

Answer

I believe in differentiation for different needs. I’m a special education teacher and I don’t look at the students with IEPs in my class as “disabled”. I look at it as them needing an accommodation or modification so they can access their learning and environment just as easily as a gen ed student.

Answer

I think a diagnosis is good to know where a person might struggle. Not having any sort of diagnosis, I don’t have personal experience with feelings on what people call it, so my thought process may be wrong. I did grow up with two siblings with adhd. I’ve babysat an autistic kid. I say that to say I have experience with a few things. I think some things are more a difference in how things are processed than a disability. To me, a disability means a person isn’t at all capable of doing certain tasks. A difference to me, is that the person can do the task. It just may be done differently. 
My sister was like you in that she was loud and abrasive, but she was perfectly capable of doing any task given to her. She may need to do it in a different way than I needed to but she could do it. She also took medication. 
My brother was just a clown and couldn’t sit in his seat properly. He refused medication because he didn’t like how it made him feel, so he figured out how to cope on his own. He was capable of doing anything. He’s an officer in the military and an engineer. 
The little autistic boy I babysit just needed more push to do things the correct way. He needed more guidance. He needed you to get on his level more and make sure he fully understood. 98% of the time, he really did understand. 
I also don’t care if a person has a difference or a disability. They are still a person. They should be treated like a person and not a diagnosis. I think we need to teach our children more about these things instead of just telling them to hush and it’s not nice to point.

Looking at diagnoses as differences rather than disabilities. What are your thoughts?

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