last updated: june 8th, 2021 7:35 pm.
welcome everyone! lets get started and learn a little something about neurodivergent people today !! :)click on the image to begin !!
DISCLAIMERS/IMPORTANT INFOas of 2022 I've decided to retire this site and stop updating it. i will keep it up so people can still access it and read it. I've since moved, deactivated accounts but I'm not going to update the credit to my current account to avoid unnecessary dms. Thank you to everyone who supported this site when it was actively being updated :)carrd created by a neurodivergent adult childerogatory on twitter <3disclaimer 1: if u have any questions about this carrd or want me to add something just message me on twitter. do not message me on my other social media platforms i will not answer.disclaimer 2: please do not dm me about discourse.(i.e what do you think about ____) its fine if you think i have misinformation, you can dm me if you want, i am open to being educated. i also encourage anyone who has questions to message me but also realize im not all knowing.important update: this update has nothing to do with the carrd itself but if you love this carrd please consider donating money to this gfm i started to raise money so me and my best friend who are both poc, autistic, and queer can move out of our abusive homes by next year. thank you!
gfm linkdisclaimer 3: please don't be rude or mean to me when i have misinformation in my carrd. i will block you. i'm learning just as much as everyone else about neurodiversity and i'm constantly updating the carrd with the best imformation i have. i know there will always be people who dont agree with certain things, this is why its important to do more research outside of carrds and use your personal judgement.important update 2: if you would like to translate my carrd into other languages you absolutely can! all i ask is that you dm me with the carrd link and credit me in the carrd when youre done so i can add it to this carrd! thank you :)go back :o) !!! - go forth :> !!!
what is neurodivergence?who can claim neurodivergence?general important terms to knowwhat are some ableist micro-agressions i may be using?/ableist organizations i may be supporting?what are some ways you can help neurodivergent people on the internet?what are some ways you can help neurodivergent people in real life?what is masking?what is stimming?what are hyperfixations/special interests?what is the difference between adhd and autism?is add and adhd different?/are there different types of adhd?can i call neurodivergent people the r slur? or if im neurodivergent can i reclaim the r slur?what are comorbid conditions?how do neurodivergent people experience gender identity differently from neuroatypicals/neurotypicals?other small things that arent talked about enough in neurodiversitygo back :o) !!!
what is neurodivergence?
the online definition of neurodiversity is a variation in the human brain regarding sociability, learning, attention, mood and other mental functions.in other words, our brains function differently to those who are neurotypical. our brains cannot be "fixed" or "cured"; in fact, most people who are diagnosed with a neurodivergent disability or disorder were born neurodivergent, as our brains are quite literally wired differently.the term neurodivergent was coined in 1998 by australian sociologist judy singer, who helped popularize the concept along with american journalist harvey blume.go back :o) !!!
who can claim neurodivergence?
anyone under this list can claim neurodivergence: autism, adhd, learning disabilities, tourettes, ocd, did/osdd-1, misophonia and personality disorders
can i self diagnose?yes! as long as you do extensive research which is why i'm here to tell you all about neurodiversity! please, if you are reading this carrd, do not self dx based off carrds or a few tweets that talk about nd symptoms. too many times have i seen people claim neurodiversity without doing the proper research and even claim it to be quirky or 'hide' being neurotypical.
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here are some terms you definitely should know to be more educated on these conditions!
neurodivergent terms to know!
__ functioning: these are problematic terms used to invalidate neurodivergent people. low functioning means your symptoms cause a lot of problems in your life. high functioning means your symptoms do not effect your every day life much. there is no "low" functioning or "high" functioning and everyone has different experiences and struggles. no matter how much you struggle personally, you are just as valid as anyone else.
intrusive thoughts: these are unwanted, annoying, obsessive, and often frightening thoughts. they can sometimes be about what might happen to someone or a person they care about, or they can be about what someone might do to themselves or someone else. these are not the only type of intrusive thoughts though, its just any obsessive thought. many of us have intrusive thoughts about things we absolutely don't want to think about, and even may be thoughts about you being something you absolutely don't want to be percieved as.
autism terms to know!
autistic(s): used as a noun to describe autistic people, a term of empowerment
autist: a slur, do not ever say it if you are not autistic
aspec: does not belong to autistic people and is only used by misinformed doctors and autistics or people looking to start discourse
r-slur: i did a rundown of this slur here
allistic: refers to people who are not autistic
credit: thread by lilpeoplez on twitter
bpd terms to know!
read them here (not all of these are specific to bpd but are important to know in context of bpd)did/osdd-1 terms to know!
read them here
if theres terms on this list you would like me to add/remove please dm me, i want to include as much important terminology as possible for any of the neurodivergent identites! thanks :)
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what are some ways you can help neurodivergent people on the internet?
first and foremost you should understand not every neurodivergent person is the same. every individual needs different needs, so its best to ask your neurodivergent friend whats best for them personally. some things they need might not be on this list, these are just suggestions to help you out :)
one way to help is to use tone indicators. they let your friend know certain social cues through text without having to embrass themselves asking for clarificationanother way is to note their triggers. the best way to do this is to straight up ask them what they need to be trigger warned and what they need content warnedanother way is to be mindful when you are using quirky text styles. for example, replacing s's with z's, (poggerz, yez, shortz, etc) or writing your pronouns like "SHE%!HER&?" instead of she/her. the s and z's depend on the person as it can make it difficult to read sentences. but for your pronouns, it is best you write it without the extra characters as you display your pronouns publicly, where anyone can see them. the extra characters can be overwhelming and throw someone into sensory overload or panic attack.another way to help is to use double spaces. this is entirely up to the individual as some people have said double spaces make them uncomfortable, cause them to meltdown, or overall just dont need them. for those people, it is best you tw or cw double spaces when using them in tweets, posts, dms, and texts. double spaces can be really helpful for those with dyslexia or people who read fast and can easily miss words.
this is an example of double spaces
another way to help is to respect triggers that are not "popular" or "conventional" for you. for example, things like all uppercase letters in a tweet or text can be triggering for some. [THIS IS AN EXAMPLE OF ALL UPPERCASE LETTERS] long paragraphs can be triggering for some. theres even some that are extremely specific that have to do with a certain song, tv show, or persons name. the easiest way to trigger warn something for someone, especially if they have a lot of triggers, is to use the phrase "[name] dont look" your friend can mute that phrase so that all their triggers can be covered when you tweet about something that triggers them.
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what is masking?
the dictionary definition of masking is artificially 'perform' social behavior that is deemed to be more 'neurotypical' or hiding behavior that might be viewed as socially unacceptable.masking is usually used when referring to autism, and even most autistic individuals have claimed the term as an autism exclusive term, however it is important to recognize that other disorders have used the same term, namely schizoid personality disorder. we have said it is okay for other neurodivergent individuals to use the term, as long as they use it to describe one certain thing they are masking and not describing it in the same way autistic people do.why would someone mask their social behavior?The biggest motivations for masking symptoms includes fitting in and increasing connections with others. the world teaches neurodivergent individuals that their social behaviors are weird and should be hidden. people treat individuals with neurodivergence like they dont know how to handle themselves and act as of they are dumb and helpless. however, these are all just stigmas around neurodiversity.
im neurodivergent and experience something like masking, but i dont resonate with the word masking, how do i explain what i experience?
many neurodivergent people have essentially been creating their own terms that are synonyms to masking, such as camouflage and concealing.
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what is the difference between adhd and autism?here is a pretty little venn diagram that lists the differences + similarities of autism and adhd !!! :3 its a common misconception that adhd and autism are the same disorder, however they are not. they are similar, yet so different at the same time.
venn diagram made by @tfw-adhd on tumblr!
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tw + cw r slur mention at bottom of section
can i call neurodivergent people the r slur?
the answer to this question will always be no. the r slur is very offensive to so many individuals even if your friend has given you the "r slur pass"
if im neurodivergent can i reclaim the r slur?
only those with intellectual disabilities can reclaim the r slur. it will never be yours to reclaim if you are neurotypical, neurAtypical, or even neurodivergent that is not disabled.more on that hereits important to note, even if you can reclaim the r slur, make sure your other disabled friends are alright with you saying it around them. as someone who's autistic, the r slur still makes me extremely uncomfortable and because of that i do not say it or feel comfortable with others saying it around me.
what is the r slur?
the r slur stands for retard, or retarded. it used to be a medical term to describe mentally disabled individuals. however, the term is now outdated and no longer used in the medical field. it is now known as a derogatory slur. the problem is this slur is normalized and is used to describe anyone who is dumb, stupid, or anything really. it is ingrained in peoples everyday vocabulary and that needs to change. it is an extremely offensive slur.
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here is a list of learning disabilities and any existing carrds i can find providing information on them
dyslexia
dysorthography
dysgraphia
dysnomia
intellectual disability
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here is a list of personality disorders and any existing carrds i can find providing information on them
visit this link to see information on all the personality disorders !
cluster a personality disorders
* cluster a personality disorders are characterized by odd, eccentric thinking or behavior.*
schizoid personality disorder
schizotypal personality disorder
cluster b personality disorders
* cluster b personality disorders are characterized by dramatic, overly emotional or unpredictable thinking or behavior.*
antisocial personality disorder
histrionic personality disorder
narcissistic personality disorder
cluster c personality disorders
cluster c personality disorders are characterized by anxious, fearful thinking or behavior.
avoidant personality disorder
dependent personality disorder
obsessive-compulsory personality disorder (not the same as ocd)
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what is stimming?
stimming is a behavioral act in neurodivergent people where we verbally or physically express overwhelming emotions.you can stim due to any emotion. most videos you see of stimming are when people are happy but you can also stim due to extreme stress and anxiety.
people who stim can also experience stim atracks if we are overwhelmed too much. even when i stim due to happiness i can still get stim attacks and they can last up to 20 minutes or longer. they get exhausting, and can even be dangerous if you have stims that have to do with self inflictions (scratching, punching, extensive bone cracking, etc) stim attacks can be brought on from panic attacks, anxiety attacks, consuming hyperfixations/special interests, masking for too long, or can even just be random!some stims include but are not limited to:
- shaking hands, feet, legs, arms, head, fists
- jumping up and down
- lifting shoulders up
- crackling knuckles, toes, etc.
- hand flapping
- scratching thighs, neck, arms
- spinning hands around so wrists crack
- flexing/playing with fingersand so so many more!!
its extremely important to note: these can also be seen as fidgeting, and even neurotypicals fidget at times. however with stimming its almost always due to overwhelming emotions and we cant control them.
another thing to note is everyone stims differently. if you dont see your stims listed you are completely valid! ive seen multiple people accuse other neurodivergent people of "copying" stims but that not only is invalidating but you can't copy others stims because many stims are universal!
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what are hyperfixations/special interests?its important to note that people can develop hyperfixations from problematic people/media. this may be because they were already hyperfixating and then something comes out that person/thing is problematic. please do not attack these people. they cannot control it. but also keep them accountable and are actively calling out these creators.what are hyperfixations?hyperfixations are interests that neurodivergent people strongly consume for weeks/months/years at a time. it can be just one interest or multiple at one time. contrary to popular belief, hyperfixations can be debilitating and distract us from our real life responsibilities. its impossible for us to stop consuming content on our hyperfixations and go so far as to talk about our hyperfixations for hours on end. because of this we can be seen as annoying and obnoxious by our family and peers.while we may enjoy consuming content of our hyperfixations, usually they end in real life consequences, and therefore it doesnt become as fun as it was at first. we can miss meals, forget to go to the restroom until we are about to go on ourselves, forget to do schoolwork, forget to go to work, forget to tend to our pets, forget to talk to friends/family, impulsively buying merch of our hyperfixation to the point we become broke, and especially have a hard time going to sleep. these are just some of the examples hyperfixations affect our lives. and because of these things we may even lose friendships/relationships, and become less distant to our families.
what is hyperfocus?this is when we are super absorbed in something so much to the point that the world around us doesn't exist. for example if we are reading a book at the moment if we are hyperfocusing the only thing that exists is that book. hyperfocusing can have real life consequences as because when we hyperfocus we literally can't hear or see anything around us. like if a teacher or family member yells our name we won't be able to hear them or know they're talking to us unless they tap us or physically get our attention of some sort. this can also be harmful because we can get very startled when someone breaks us out of our hyperfocus. it basically triggers our fight or flight responses.please note: hyperfixations and hyperfocus in autism is actually different than in adhd/other neurodivergent people. for autistic people, they hyperfixate/hyperfocus because they get so focused on one thought that they can't get it out of their heads. that is also a reason why compulsions and repetitive movement/words happen.how do hyperfixations manifest in neurodivergent people?theres many reasons someone may pick up a hyperfixation/special interest. some include but not limited to:
- a friend got them into said interest
- randomly found interest
- interest from past that has become a hyperfixation years later
- interest to keep self busy if in abusive/toxic environmentcan hyperfixations come back again after you lose interest/what happens after you lose interest in a hyperfixation/special interest?hyperfixations can most definitely come back again after losing interest as i said before. if you had a hyperfixation when you were younger and years later you can begin to hyperfixate on it again now as a teenager/adult.a lot of times when we lose interest in a hyperfixation, we feel guilty and ashamed because we might now have a bad relationship with our family/friends. we also might feel guilty because we impulsively bought a bunch of merch that now seems useless when we could have used that money for something more long-term, or more important like groceries or bills.
what are special interests?special interests are a narrow area of study that an autistic person is very passionate about and really enjoys. these interests can last life long, if anything last several years. autistic people who also have special interests know when they have a special interest, because they have had that interest since they were children or just know that they will never get tired of said interest no matter the situation, context, or how they are feeling.autistic people can have only one special interest in their life time, or multiple special interests that change over time. in this case, they tend to rotate on what they're most interested in at the time.what happens when special interests develop?an autistic person who develops a special interest will tend to collect as much information as they can, and they often organize them in charts, lists, graphs, etc.what are some common special interests?some of them most common special interests you'll see autistic people have is animals, space, trains, etc. because these are non-living (except animals) things and autistic people dont have to spend lots of energy trying to figure out their emotions. but even though those are some of the most common ones, special interests can be literally anything.
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what are some micro-aggressions i may be using?/ableist organizations i may be supporting?some micro-aggressions include but are not limited to:
- "read the room" now this aave phrase is not inherently ableist. as long as you don't use it to attack neurodivergent people knowing they are neurodivergent it is 100% okay to use. many of us have a hard time with social cues and can't pick up on tones in voices, tones in texts/tweets, facial expressions, or energy in our environment.
- infantilizing neurodivergent people as if they can't take care or handle themselves. this includes calling stims cute when we stim in real life, videos, tiktoks, pictures, etc. this makes many of us extremely uncomfortable and can even be offensive because while you mean well, and while we do need help with certain things, overall we are super independent and can do most things by ourselves.
- "you don't look [neurodivergent]" theres not one look to being neurodivergent! anyone can be neurodivergent regardless of physical traits. its ableist to say otherwise.
- "you're too smart to be [neurodivergent]" this micro-aggression is so normalized even medical professionals make it harder to diagnose neurodivergent disorders. too many times have people been told because they have a high IQ or "do well in school" they couldnt possibly be neurodivergent.
- "youre a girl you cant be [neurodivergent]" many of my personal close friends have experienced this. medical professionals have told my friends because they are AFAB (assigned female at birth) they cant have adhd or be autistic because they arent AMAB (assigned male at birth), making it a longer and harder process for them to get diagnosed. im sure this has happened to AFAB for other nd conditions. denormalize sexism in the medical field. it kills.
- calling special interests "obsessions" or "fixations". this isnt okay because these generally have negative connotations, even though special interests are things that bring knowledge and joy to autistic people. be respectful to autistic people and their special interests.
- saying you are "concerned" or "worried" when you display [adhd/autistic] traits. let's unpack that internalized ableism. i see it especially on tiktok, when someone makes a tiktok talking about adhd or autistic traits, people flood the comments like "i have these traits, should i be worried??" and to me that sounds like you are afraid to be autistic or have adhd. we shouldn't be feared. we are amazing and a lot of us love and embrace that adhd and autism are a core part of our identities.one of the biggest ableist organizations that directly harm neurodivergent people is autism speaks. autism speaks is a hate group made up of mothers that have autistic children that believe autism can and should be cured. it has been proven neurodivergence cant be cured as their brains are wired in a different way than neurotypical brains. autism speaks tries to make autism out to be something shameful to have, and that you should be cured. however, it is important to remove that stigma and teach neurodivergent people to not have to change themselves to please neurotypical people.another charity organization called next for autism is also extremely harmful for autistic people as they support ABA therapy, as well as it took them over 18 years to consider that maybe they should have some autistic members. they continually lie to others and gaslight autistic people who tell them what they represent and what they stand for is harmful. please don't supprt them.organizations you can support are autism society and national autistic society :)
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what are some ways you can help neurodivergent people in real life?one way to help is to speak out against the ableism in the school system that directly harms neurodivergent students from succeeding. its been proven that the school system was built for neurotypicals and doesnt consider those with disabilities. its important to protest and speak out as an able bodied person so that they can make classrooms more neurodivergent friendly. able bodied people have the privilege to go through school and not have to worry that they are not being accounted for. you may ask "what about 504 programs and no child left behind law?" great question. the schools and government use these to get by and look like they help neurodivergent kids. but in reality it takes months to set up a 504 and schools dont actually utilize the no child let behind law until a parent of a child who is neurodivergent complains enough.another way is to advocate to require subtitles in media like every youtube video, livestreaming, and in schools when presented with videos for assignments. this also goes for advocating for ASL interpreters for national tv if you have watched the presidential debate, vice presidential debate, and the democratic/republican debates you probably noticed they didnt show the ASL interpreters to the tv which directly harms not only neurodivergent people but deaf/hard of hearing people as well.another way to help is to advocate for trigger warnings and content warnings before episodes of tv series/movies. i have seen people do these but is not as common as it should be. i have never seen a single movie in theatres provide trigger warnings/content warnings before a movie started for sensitive content. that needs to changethe best way to help out people with special interests is just listen! don't try to get autistic people to supress it or feel uncomfortable about it. showing that you care goes a long really long way. even if their special interests might seem weird or not age appropriate (for example adults who like coloring books or stuffed animals), please just be accepting and kind :)
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what are comorbid conditions?comorbid conditions are conditions/disorders that are related to one condition. its extremely common for neurodivergent people to have comorbid conditions. most comorbid conditions are other mental illnesses or drug/alcohol abuse depending on which disorder it is. comorbid conditions vary for each disorder.the chart below is an example of a lot of comorbid conditions that people with adhd can have that relate directly to adhd. i can't include all the comorbid conditions of every neurodivergent disorder as theres too many to list but you can easily access them on google.
