When people say “neurodivergent,” I don’t know what the hell they are talking about. To be blunt. Am I supposed to guess? Everyone, one group, or two groups? Only three groups? 

I prefer using precise terms. But if I’m talking about dyslexia, C-PTSD, DCD, autism, epilepsy, OCD, and ADHD (this isn’t everyone), then I might use neurodivergent. There’s no reason to call one group ND. Just say dyslexic if you mean dyslexic or autistic, whatever!

I’m in 4 groups in the ND list because no one is practical enough to combine DCD (dyspraxia) into autism. If you are autistic, there’s more than a 50% chance you have dyspraxia. Almost guaranteed. So I don’t say I have dyspraxia. I’m autistic; that should be enough for people to get it, but they don’t even know what autism is.  Anyway….

Disclaimer: all motor coordination issues aren’t dyspraxia. It has to affect a person daily and there may be other rules to join um, the club. I’m affected by this more than sensory stuff, so I qualify for sure! They only “allowed” this to be diagnosed with autism within the past 6-7 years, so that is why most autistic people don’t have a DX and will never get one in the US especially. And there are many with dyspraxia who aren’t autistic.

But people and their so-called shortcuts or lack of thinking just say whatever, and then they can say, “you know what I meant.” And I go, (in my mind) “well, actually…”

People probably think I’m referring to neurotypical people when I talk about “most people,” but really, I’m talking about mainstream people. AKA people who fit into the norm or can pass without major fatigue. So, a person with ADHD, etc., can be included in that group, along with others. Jump right in! It’s not about just a diagnosis.

*Being tired and passing as normal is probably normal, considering the high price of not passing. 

They should know who they are, but that takes awareness, so back to square one.  Lol. Who is normal? The people who mostly fit into the normal section of psychology. Hmm. I’ll try again. They aren’t in the Abnormal Psychology textbook. Or rarely. 

The people who hate being called normal the most… are normal people. So it’s easy to spot them. 

Can’t spot patterns easily? Then must be normal! They would hate that joke because they aren’t used to being left out. It’s all about them. Constantly. All the rules are made to keep them safe. Most products and food are made for them. But they don’t appreciate it. They take it for granted. And they think they have empathy and are nice, as if anyone but them cares. They surely don’t care about the others, or they would, like, know stuff. 

Normal is never questioning being normal. And denying that normal exists, but constantly saying everything but the word normal. BOOM. That’s the real definition.

*Really, it’s just a description, of course.

 “I don’t believe in normal.” 6 minutes later. “Something’s not right with that person. She’s weird. Who does that?  Something’s off.” See it all the time. But they don’t believe in normal. No self-awareness, or are they ignorant about “normal” on purpose? Two things can be true.

 And they constantly benefit from being normal. It’s kind of cruel to deny it and pretend we are all treated equally and given the same opportunities. Whatever. My rants don’t matter for obvious reasons. 

This Week in Media & Other Things

Music of the Week

Books of the Week

Slow reading month, compared to June and July. It won’t get quicker since I’m traveling this upcoming week (nothing fun), but sometimes I’m more bored when I’m not at home and read more, so who knows? Anyway, I finished two books this past week.

^{Deadly Greed: The Riveting True Story of the Stuart Murder Case by Joe Sharkey.  (Nonfiction) My rating: ★★★★ (really 4.5 stars). I saw the HBO special a few years ago, but I completely forgot how it ended. I was shocked when I read it in the book. It’s hard to rate true crime sometimes because it can be: is the case good or is it well written? So, I guess this is both. But the 4.5 is probably more about what happened than how it was told. The point is this is a good book. If you like true crime at all, you will like this.} 

^{The Outsider by Valerie Keogh (Fiction). My rating: ★★★ (really 3.25 stars). I thought this was going to be about a whistleblower at work, but that pretty much ended by the first chapter. Then it turned into an isolated person in a cabin, which might be an okay movie, but I don’t often love books like that. So, not my favorite Keogh book, but I will read her again.} 

Quote of the Week

I hope this doesn’t read as “suffering is okay because there is a point.” Because this isn’t my point. I would never suggest that. I wouldn’t say, “It gets better,” either because I don’t know if it’s going to get better. And I don’t feel the need to put a bow on suffering but since suffering exists…