Autism and adhd are the human condition turned up to 11. Here’s my simplification of these poorly-defined blanket terms.
Autism is neuronal and adhd is hormonal.
Autism is intent and adhd is impulse.
Autism is order and adhd is chaos.
Adhd is the better defined of the two: ‘dopamine dysregulation and all that follows’. Autism is… well… They’re both poorly defined and not getting much clearer. The diagnoses will be changing very soon as AI comes into play, so don’t sweat it too much.
Both of these conditions are a feature of the human condition and not a bug.
That’s important. They are part of how we evolved.
We need the divergence of random emotions casting a net, and the convergence of logical thinking reeling it back in.
These are not things to be ‘cured’, though the extreme versions of the symptoms are - in my mind - to be medicated.
Autistic families mastered our artisanal crafts. Adhd folks went off and discovered America.
Autistic folks saw patterns and created our science and religion. Adhd folks shouted the news from the rooftops.
Autism and adhd are humanity. We could not exist without either.
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