a response to an otherwise-good tumblr post

[stardust_rifle]

"All neurodivergencies are invisible disabilities" is kind of an oversimplification, IMO. Just speaking from experience, while my position on the visible/invisible disability spectrum (which is a topic for another day) fluctuates, there have definitely been scenarios where I'm walking around with big, bulky, noise-canceling headphones, sunglasses indoors, while carrying a stuffed animal.

Someone who looks at me might not go "Oh, they're autistic", but they will notice that Something's Up, and this definitely carries over to the way I get treated by other people.

Comments

[palominocorn]

Huh. I'm not sure what definition of "invisible" this person is using but it's not the same as mine - people reliably flag me as neurodivergent when, eg, they see/hear my reaction to bright lights and loud noises. And painful lights and noises are EVERYWHERE so I do this multiple times a day.

People definitely also notice my writing/language/speech issues and my forgetfulness. And while I have my moods under better control now, I was DEFINITELY read as A Mentally Ill (TM) as a kid/teen.

[hellofriendsiminthedark]

Sounds like the type of person who thinks of depression as the quintessential neurodivergence and leaves it there. Probably the most readily recognizable neurodivergence with de facto physical exhibitions is Down syndrome, but neurological disorders like Tourettes, Parkinson's, Huntington's, MS, etc can also come with highly visible and unsuppressable physical effects that very clearly mark people as disabled to others. And even that's not getting into congenital skull differences and stuff. There's a whole truckload of highly crude and recognizable physical behaviors that people use to signal mockery of intellectually disabled people that pretty readily prove that for most of society does believe that you can tell who's an r-word just by looking.