Do you think “neurodivergent” is too fake of a word to be real just because it’s relatively new? Geez, “fast food” was once new, too!
I can’t get over how many people dismiss the terms neurodivergent and neurodiversity because they’ve been “coined” only fairly recently.
I see this dismissal pop up all the time in the comments sections of articles about late-diagnosed autism.
Do these critics also dismiss other relatively newly coined terms such as googled, blogosphere and binge-watch?
All words have to start from somewhere! Who sez that a word can’t be real unless it’s been around for hundreds of years?
Just goes to show how some people can be as dense as a block of cement.
Autism Spectrum Disorder is considered a neurologically based condition.
It strays from the brain wiring of the typical human being. Another word for “stray” is “divert.”
Therefore, “neurodivergent” is the perfect word to describe this! Holy neurotypicality, Batman!
The same applies to ADHD: The wiring in the brains of ADHD’ers isn’t the same as those of typical people: They are neuro (short for neurological) divergent (diverting from the main course).
Coining a New Word Is How Spoken Language Works
The word “neurodivergent” was coined around 2000 by autistic activist Kassiane Asasumasu.
It grew out of the earlier concept of “neurodiversity,” associated with Australian sociologist Judy Singer in the late 1990s. However, it’s believed that neurodiversity began circulating in autistic online communities in the mid-1990s.
- Autism and ADHD are neurological conditions (brain wiring).
- Diversity emphasizes that human thinking comes in many different varieties.
- The term neurodiversity is thus a no-brainer!
- There are also other forms of neurodiversity, but ASD and ADHD lead the way.
Just how far back shall we go in human history before we declare the time cutoff for which any words “invented” afterwards are invalid?
The argument may go something like, “That’s not a real word. Nobody used it when I was growing up.”
Well, did anyone use crash-out or give me the tea when you were growing up? Yet you fully accept those newly coined terms, right?
Shall we deem LOL invalid because it wasn’t around before 1990?
The critics need to learn how language works.
Words and phrases are coined all the time because people need ways to describe things that existing language doesn’t capture very well. Check out some more:
- Selfie
- Podcast
- Long COVID
- Chemo-brain
- Touch some grass
Being new doesn’t make a word meaningless.
The age of a word isn’t proof of its validity.
If a word develops a recognizable meaning and people find it useful for communicating, it has a legitimate place in the language.
I’m autistic. Would the critics say I’m NOT neurodivergent?
How could neurodivergent not describe me? I sure as hell ain’t neurotypical!
The way I think and see the world totally veers from the experiences of typical people.
To veer means to divert. Is it my bones that divert? No. Is it the size of my feet? No. Is it the way my brain (neuro) operates? YES. Therefore, I am neurodivergent. Deal!
Remember, every word was new at some point.
Newly coined words are popping up all the time, including in sports as well.
So whether you become a runner or a pickleballer, it’s best you accept that 10 or even five years from now, there will be a slew of new words that you currently can’t even come close to conceiving.
Oh, I’m also an Autist and Spectrumite.
