Neurodiversity and language

Neurodiversity

By Sacha Brinkley, Content Editor

As discussed in a previous article, neurodiversity is broad and many conditions fall underneath its umbrella. Each neurodivergent individual has their own needs and supports, sometimes changing by the day.

Something that isn’t perhaps discussed very often is the language we use when talking about neurodiverse people.

This article aims to bring awareness about the language we use around neurodiverse people and to help challenge stereotypes.

Terms

First, it could be helpful to outline a few terms and what they mean:

  • Neurodivergent: this is the term we used to describe a singular person. For example, “Taehyung is autistic and neurodivergent”.
  • Neurodiversity: this is the term we use to describe a group of people, i.e. a collective term. For example, “our workplace is neurodiversity friendly”.
  • Spectrum: refers to a broad range of neurodiverse behaviours or actions. Note: autism is now referred to as ‘autism spectrum disorder’ – terms like Aspergers are outdated and no longer in use.
  • Person-first vs identity-first: this refers to the way someone wishes their express their neurodivergence. For example, person-first would look like this: “My name is Rose Choi and I am autistic”. Identity-first would look like this: “My name is Rose Choi and I am a person with autism”. Neither are wrong, it’s a personal preference.

Language as a stereotype

Have you ever looked at a picture on a wall that’s slightly crooked? Have you ever wanted to correct that crooked picture and jokingly made a comment about being “slightly OCD”?

Perhaps you’ve had a frustrating day and sworn a lot. Have you ever laughed about it and said “must be my Tourettes kicking in”?
Or maybe you’ve gently mocked a colleague who persistently misspells or misreads something basic?

While these are all said in jest, it can have harmful consequences to other people. Many neurodivergent people are not comfortable disclosing their condition in the workplace.

For example, someone with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) can struggle enormously and to hear OCD being associated with fussiness could make them doubt their condition as being legitimate.

Similarly, most people with Tourette’s syndrome don’t actually swear – this condition is called coprolalia and only impacts 1 in 10 people who have Tourette’s syndrome. To be reduced to the “swearing disease” is very dehumanising and can have such a negative impact on someone with Tourettes.

Consider also mocking someone for not being able to spell: they could be dyslexic and will have struggled with spelling and reading all their lives. Making someone feel stupid for a joke isn’t a kind thing to do, especially not at their expense.
And while most people would never intentionally hurt a neurodivergent individual, words do hold a lot of power.

Next steps

So, what can we do to change the way we express ourselves? Here are some tips to help:

  1. The first step is to acknowledge that some of the language we use in daily discourse is problematic. You’ll be off to a great start just by becoming aware of what you’re saying and who you’re saying it to.
  2. Do some research to gain a better understanding of conditions you may not be aware of. For example, before writing this article, I didn’t know that coprolalia only impacted a very small number of those with Tourettes.
  3. If you know someone who is neurodivergent, listen to them. Find out what language they’re comfortable using and use it. Most people are more than willing to talk about their preferences – you just have to ask.