By skyforbes 
Back in the 80s and 90s, every kid knew someone a little “off.”
You know the type —
- Rocking Velcro shoes well into sixth grade
- Wore the same “I’m with Stupid!” T-shirt for four days straight
- Kinda flapped his arms when he got excited
- Couldn’t tie a shoe to save his life, but could out-math your ass before lunch was over.
And you know what?
We didn’t need a medical diagnosis to accept him.
We didn’t need some big dramatic word like “neurodivergent” flashing over his head in neon.
We just sat with him, traded Cheetos for homework help, and accepted that we were all weird in different ways.
I grew up in Wisconsin — everyone was broke, living on farms, smelling like diesel and cow shit, and looking half-feral. Half the town ended up with health problems from pesticide runoff, so having a few oddballs in the bunch wasn’t weird — it was just Tuesday.
Nobody was normal.
We were just kids.
Judy Singer, the actual sociologist who coined the term neurodivergent in the late 90s, didn’t create it so some bored influencer could turn it into a fashion accessory.
She meant it for people with real neurological wiring differences —
autism, ADHD, dyslexia, Tourette’s —
people who struggled in silence while the rest of the world told them to shut up and try harder.
When she got interviewed by The Guardian in 2021, you could almost hear the frustration dripping out of her mouth:
“It wasn’t meant to be a grab-bag for everyone having a bad hair day.”
Not a TikTok aesthetic.
Not a Hinge profile label.
Not your excuse for being late to brunch.
SMDH.
So the term itself is getting twisted — and in the process, it’s screwing over the people who are actually neurodivergent.
1. It Dilutes the Meaning
Originally, neurodivergent meant people with serious, clinically recognized cognitive differences — autism, ADHD, dyslexia, Tourette’s, etc.
When everyone starts claiming it because they’re “quirky” or “bad at texting,” the word stops meaning anything real.
➡️ Result:
People with actual, diagnosed conditions have a harder time getting taken seriously — by employers, schools, and even medical professionals.
2. It Undermines Real Advocacy
People fought hard to get workplaces, universities, and society at large to make real accommodations for neurodivergent individuals:
- Special testing conditions
- Sensory-friendly spaces
- Support programs for real social and communication challenges
When 23-year-olds start calling themselves “neurodivergent” because they prefer texting over phone calls, it makes the entire movement look like a joke.
➡️ Result:
Legitimate needs get lumped into “everybody’s just a little sensitive” — and serious cases get ignored.
3. It Creates Resentment Toward the Real Community
When fake or exaggerated claims of “neurodivergence” flood social media, normal people get annoyed —
and then they project that frustration onto everyone who uses the term, including those who desperately need it.
➡️ Result:
Real neurodivergent people face skepticism, eye-rolls, and accusations of “faking it for attention,” even when they’re just trying to survive.
4. It Turns Genuine Struggle Into an Aesthetic
For people truly living with autism, ADHD, Tourette’s, etc., life isn’t a vibe.
It’s often isolating.
It’s hard.
It’s painful.
It’s humiliating in ways most people don’t even realize.
When TikTokers romanticize their “neurodivergent” identity with pastel graphics and curated mental breakdowns, it trivializes the brutal, daily work real neurodivergent people have to put in just to function.
➡️ Result:
Pain becomes fashionable — while those actually struggling get left behind.
5. It Damages Mental Health for Everyone
The more people casually label themselves “neurodivergent” without understanding what it really means, the more they externalize normal life challenges —
Instead of learning coping skills, building resilience, or growing emotional intelligence, they just blame their struggles on a fake identity.
➡️ Result:
Nobody gets better — and society becomes more fragile, more entitled, and more confused.
In Short:
Overusing “neurodivergent” fucks everyone.