Sarah Finnegan

The people who are being given an autism diagnosis have changed. This is a massive study, looking at people in Sweden and the UK diagnosed with autism in adulthood. What they find, apart from a huge increase in the number of people being diagnosed (and many more women being diagnosed), is that the people themselves are different. Previously, adults who received an autism diagnosis were more likely to have a prior history of epilepsy, intellectual disability or psychotic disorders. Now, they are more likely to have a history of anxiety, depression, ADHD or other symptoms of emotional distress. This is in line with what clinicians have been saying for a while. Mental health problems, which were previously seen as psychological or emotional in origin, are increasingly being seen as neurodevelopmental, and therefore due to brain differences. Autism is the lens through which our culture is seeing distress. This has serious implications, because autism is seen as untreatable and lifelong. Mental health problems such as anxiety or depression are seen as treatable. Recovery is possible. By bringing so many more people under the autistic umbrella, we tell them thatthey are wired this way. That’s a powerful explanation because it can bring relief and self-acceptance - but it can also bring hopelessness about change. We aren’t discovering more of the original type of autism which was there all along, we have changed what autism means. The important question is, what is the impact of diagnosing so many more people, and it is helping them to better live the lives they want? mentalhealth.bmj.com/co…

Neurodivergence literally means whatever anyone defines it as. Some say it’s autism and ADHD (and some add dyslexia and other specific learning disabilities). Some says it’s a difference not a disorder and shouldn’t be pathologised. Some say it’s any deviation from a neuro-normative standard required by society. Some say it’s about differently wired brains. Some says it’s about navigating a world that wasn’t designed for you. Some say that it’s autism, ADHD, PTSD, OCD, BPD, GAD, NPD, MDD, PMDD and pretty well every other psychiatric label going - but also isn’t pathologising. So when someone writes a book for ‘neurodivergent women’, who do they mean?