I hear ‘neurospicy’ a lot from neurodiverse academic colleagues (I am an EDI champion in my faculty), though I have been in an online accessibility workshop where someone used it in the chat box and another person found it offensive, probably not having realised that the person using the term was also neurodiverse.
My Iyengar yoga teacher is aware of the issue of hypermobility; she’s always telling me not to overextend my elbows. But she has a PhD in sports science so is knowledgeable on physiology and Iyengar yoga is very focused on correct alignment.
All* the young'uns are saying that these days, along with 'the 'tism' for autism - 'got a touch of the 'tism!' (I don't like them for myself, but happy for people to call themselves what they like.)
I may have used "chugging the 'tism" to describe one of Mrs Feet's friends who asked whether people thought he might by autistic.
Their is a link between anxiety disorder and hypermobility disorders that is thought to be genetic I believe, don’t know if their are known biological links to other forms of mental health difficulty.
Anxiety and OCD (which is I think an anxiety-related disorder). Also allergies up the wazoo.
I'm neurospicy, though there isn't a blanket term for my various weirdnesses (prosopagnosia; synesthesia; near-eidetic memory; anxiety; time-blind). And Ehlers-Danlos syndrome comes in at least ten varieties, though the most common one is hEDS (hypermobility type), which is what I've got. Some forms they've found a genetic marker for, but others (like mine) they're still looking, and it has to be diagnosed using major and minor observed criteria.
Even within a single type, you can get different levels of severity. We can trace it through four generations in my family, but mine is by far the worst. My grandmother had just a touch of it--enough to allow her to touch her toes when she was 90. My mother had unstable knees, no more than that. I have multiple dislocations all over my body, severe near-sightedness, mitral valve prolapse (well, I used to--they couldn't find it the last time), acid reflux from an incompetent sphincter, severe chronic pain, early arthritis, and the list goes on. My son hasn't shown any signs of it since early childhood, but it kept him from walking till he was two. I'm hoping it never impacts him in a major way again.
To be fair, I quite like neurospicy, or neuro-whatever. "Divergent" is so often as opposed "normal" (or "typical"), and suggests there is a normal version and that some people are odd.
I think it is much more that there are all sorts of variants of normality. All levels of spiciness. Nobody is actually normal.
To make at least a hail Mary of a call to the OP, I think more and more close-contact medical practitioners are aware of the range of issues and will seek to work with them.
I agree about the issues with the word ‘divergent’, it suggests difference rather than inclusivity. I thought that when writing it, I found it jarring.
I'm the opposite, I like the difference aspect of "divergent", especially for ADHD which is what I find to be the most disabling. I dislike "neurospicy" as I think it sounds childish - generally I prefer using medical terminology in order to have more precise language.
My hEDS is mild and not obvious, mostly affecting my hands/wrists and arms - though oddly the only joints that have regularly dislocated (not painful at all, oddly) are my little toes when pointing my feet in gymnastics lessons at school.
Yes, my reason for not liking neurospicy is partly the childish aspect (I felt the same about 'aspie' when that was a popular term), and I prefer an official term. And partly because I associate spicy with food, and I'm not a dinner. And then there's the sex usage of spicy, and I'm asexual. And the implication that if you're not spicy, you're bland, and I'm really not into defining myself by putting down those who are different from myself.
I actually prefer ASD. I have no problem with the term disorder, because difficulty with organisation is a huge part of my autism, so for me, it literally is a disorder. I see there being a danger in watering down the disability element of autism, and seeing it as something purely fun and interesting - which neurospicy suggests to me. But I know a lot of people like the term, and I see it that people can self define as they like.
I even find neurodivergence a bit of a watering down. But to me it is good as a reminder that people's brains work differently. Which is something that people can easily forget, and assume you're being deliberately difficult, or they don't believe what you are experiencing. Being different isn't bad, nor does it prevent inclusivity. Rather, inclusivity can't happen unless difference is acknowledged and given access.
I have no problem with ‘disorder’ in bipolar disorder either, for similar reasons. I say ‘I have bipolar disorder’ but also ‘I am manic depressive’; it is part of my identity. (I am currently in discussion with my employer about their disability pages referring to ‘mental health difficulties’ as I want them to use more positive terminology. My work signature now contains the line ‘My identity is not a difficulty’.)
I went to the dentist again today, for a follow-up appointment, and I was able to express my needs better to them (I think this thread helped me process and put things into words) and I had a much more positive experience, and feeling less scared of my next appointments.
Comments
My Iyengar yoga teacher is aware of the issue of hypermobility; she’s always telling me not to overextend my elbows. But she has a PhD in sports science so is knowledgeable on physiology and Iyengar yoga is very focused on correct alignment.
I may have used "chugging the 'tism" to describe one of Mrs Feet's friends who asked whether people thought he might by autistic.
Anxiety and OCD (which is I think an anxiety-related disorder). Also allergies up the wazoo.
Even within a single type, you can get different levels of severity. We can trace it through four generations in my family, but mine is by far the worst. My grandmother had just a touch of it--enough to allow her to touch her toes when she was 90. My mother had unstable knees, no more than that. I have multiple dislocations all over my body, severe near-sightedness, mitral valve prolapse (well, I used to--they couldn't find it the last time), acid reflux from an incompetent sphincter, severe chronic pain, early arthritis, and the list goes on. My son hasn't shown any signs of it since early childhood, but it kept him from walking till he was two. I'm hoping it never impacts him in a major way again.
I think it is much more that there are all sorts of variants of normality. All levels of spiciness. Nobody is actually normal.
To make at least a hail Mary of a call to the OP, I think more and more close-contact medical practitioners are aware of the range of issues and will seek to work with them.
My hEDS is mild and not obvious, mostly affecting my hands/wrists and arms - though oddly the only joints that have regularly dislocated (not painful at all, oddly) are my little toes when pointing my feet in gymnastics lessons at school.
I actually prefer ASD. I have no problem with the term disorder, because difficulty with organisation is a huge part of my autism, so for me, it literally is a disorder. I see there being a danger in watering down the disability element of autism, and seeing it as something purely fun and interesting - which neurospicy suggests to me. But I know a lot of people like the term, and I see it that people can self define as they like.
I even find neurodivergence a bit of a watering down. But to me it is good as a reminder that people's brains work differently. Which is something that people can easily forget, and assume you're being deliberately difficult, or they don't believe what you are experiencing. Being different isn't bad, nor does it prevent inclusivity. Rather, inclusivity can't happen unless difference is acknowledged and given access.