Ex-SNP MP Mhairi Black has said that neurodiversity is treated as a “fad”, comparing it to being in the closet due to stigmatisation.
In a column for The National, Ms Black, who was diagnosed with ADHD in 2018, said she kept it a secret due to “backstabbing” in Westminster.
She said there were “similarities in how society perceives both the LGBT+ community and the neurodiverse community”, including people with autism, ADHD, dyslexia, dyspraxia, and Tourette’s syndrome, all legally classified disabilities and protected by the Equality Act 2010.
However Ms Black said “small adjustments” were often refused, causing burnout, stress and physical illness, due to being forced to function to neurotypical expectations.
Ms Black wrote: “Every single brain is unique, but ‘neurodivergent’ simply means we have been able to identify patterns showing that some brains behave differently to what we consider ‘typical’. I was once asked what age I was when I came out as gay, to which I replied that I was never ‘in’.
“The same cannot be said for my neurodivergence.
“I was diagnosed with ADHD in 2018 but because of Westminster politics and backstabbing, I decided to keep that information between myself and the few folk I trusted.
“Now that I have left and am speaking openly about my experiences, I am struck by the similarities in how society perceives both the LGBT+ community and the neurodiverse community.
“There is an assumption that this obsession with labels is something new and that it is just a fad that is being forced upon children. As with the LGBT+ community, the neurodiverse community knows that it is not a fad. Labels give us the language to explain who we are.
“These labels should be used as a shorthand to indicate what wavelength you’re on. Nothing more.
“They offer an insight into who someone is at their core and how their brain works.
“For example, if you know someone is autistic, then it can explain why you may feel they are speaking very directly.
“If you know someone has ADHD then you may afford them slightly more patience when they are late or forgetful.
“If you know a pupil is dyslexic then you know not to force them to read aloud to a classroom.
“If you know an employee struggles with sensory overload then you are more likely to understand why they would like to work from home.
“These small adjustments that make a world of difference to the person impacted by them.”
She said when “simple adjustments are not made, we start to see the long-term consequences”, including “stress, loneliness, stigma” and “burnout” forced on people by “holding themselves to the standards of the neurotypical”.
Ms Black said that physical symptoms included headaches, stomach issues, fatigue, frequent illness, depression, anxiety and self-doubt were “all symptoms of trying to force your brain to work like everyone else’s, rather than embracing and being allowed to work with your brain”.
Ex-SNP MP Mhairi Black (right) at the Scotland United Against Austerity rally held in George Square, Glasgow in 2015 (Danny Lawson/PA)
However she said that neurodivergence was linked to increased creativity, organisation, and willingness to push boundaries, but that a “vicious circle” meant that diagnoses were often occurring due to increased pressure on the NHS due to a failure to make “small adjustments”, and that there was no “routinely collected reliable data” on assessment times.
She added: “Some may claim that an increase in people seeking a diagnosis proves that it is ‘fashionable’, but I reckon it is much more likely that we, as a society, are developing a better understanding and acceptance of neurodiversity.
“Similarly, some may say that if the NHS is already struggling with the number of neurodivergent diagnoses at the moment, then how can it be expected to cope with such an increase?
“In order to tackle a challenge you first need to know what size it is.”