this post was submitted on 15 Mar 2026
51 points (87.0% liked)

Autism

9690 readers
435 users here now

A community for respectful discussion and memes related to autism acceptance. All neurotypes are welcome.

Community:

Values

  • Acceptance
  • Openness
  • Understanding
  • Equality
  • Reciprocity
  • Mutuality
  • Love

Rules

  1. No abusive, derogatory, or offensive post/comments e.g: racism, sexism, religious hatred, homophobia, gatekeeping, trolling.
  2. Posts do not need be related to autism, off-topic discussions are allowed. This is a safe space where people with autism can feel comfortable discussing whatever they feel like discussing, as long as it does not violate the standing rules.
  3. Your posts must include a text body. It doesn't have to be long, it just needs to be descriptive.
  4. Do not request donations.
  5. Be respectful in discussions.
  6. Do not post misinformation.
  7. Mark NSFW content accordingly.
  8. Do not promote Autism Speaks.
  9. General Lemmy World rules.
  10. No bots. Humans only.

Encouraged

  1. Open acceptance of all autism levels as a respectable neurotype.
  2. Funny memes.
  3. Respectful venting.
  4. Describe posts of pictures/memes using text in the body for our visually impaired users.
  5. Welcoming and accepting attitudes.
  6. Questions regarding autism.
  7. Questions on confusing situations.
  8. Seeking and sharing support.
  9. Engagement in our community's values.
  10. Expressing a difference of opinion without directly insulting another user.
  11. Please report questionable posts and let the mods deal with it.

.

Helpful Resources

founded 2 years ago
MODERATORS
 

I have several disorders which are located inside of the brain (which obviously includes autism, hence me posting here). I dislike calling myself "neurodivergent" for many reasons. For one, people use this term as a replacement word for autism, and I have many conditions besides autism.

For example, I'll see posts saying, "neurodivergent people sre more likely to do XYZ." There are so many disorders which fall under the neurodivergent umbrella that it isn't humanly possible for neurodivergent people to be more likely to say or do something than other folks; just say autistic in this context.

I also find that my personal experience gets watered down by calling myself neurodivergent; it feels like a modern version of being called special. I have several conditions which fall under different categories; psychiatric, neurological, and neurodevelopmental. To call all of that just neurodivergent is not very specific and doesn't tell a person what my needs are (plus, they'll just assume I'm autistic).

you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
[–] floralmortal@lemmy.ca 0 points 1 day ago (1 children)

I like more specific terms instead of vague terms is my thing. Spaghetti isn't nearly as vague as neurodivergent is. There's also a lot of debate about what conditions even count as neurodivergent. I've seen someone argue that having a perfect memory is neurodivergent by itself, which tells me how very vague this term is.

It isn't about being special; it's about having accurate language that isn't dreadfully vague. I've met other people who've run into similar issues as me. Saying that I'm neurodivergent would be like saying, "I'm eating dough tonight," and it's actually a plate of lasagna. That's how vague this term is. Pasta is technically dough, but no one will know what the hell you mean if you tell somebody that you're eating dough.

"I can promise you I have more illnesses, both mental and physical than you," you sound like the one making this a "special" competition now. You're also very aggressive, which isn't helping your argument at all. Not once have I called you any names, yet you insist on resorting to name-calling a stranger.