In a simplified form, autism is thinking. Everything goes back to the root of our neurodivergent thought processes. But what exactly is neurodivergence from our point of view? How would we describe it to someone who is not autistic so they could understand us better? This is a good question with some truly fascinating answers. I have thought of several creative ways to describe neurodivergence and autism and have received encouraging feedback.
In May 2022, I found a contentious debate on the internet that questioned autism’s legitimacy. This person believed we should not receive financial aid that was traditionally intended for mental health needs because autism is separate from mental health. Then, I found the NIMH overview explaining that autism was neurological. So, I asked myself, “How does neurology affect me?”
Here is an exact account of my reasoning from my recent article, When a Diagnosis Is Not Enough:
“Using simple biology, my heart is essential to pump blood for my body to function, followed by my lungs to oxygenate my vital organs, and my brain to control everything. What happens next? If my brain controls my neurology, this is before I act or react. Autism had to be more than a set of traits, such as oversharing and missing social cues. It could be influencing all of my behavior, including my thinking, which is crucial to how I function as an individual.”
Notice how analytical my thinking is. Even though I am not a psychologist or biologist, I use sound deductive reasoning to prove my case. Then, I came up with another explanation using something many are very familiar with and do on a daily basis: driving.
Drivers in the US represent the non-autistic. They have vehicles designed and constructed to suit a person sitting on one side of the vehicle and traveling on one side of the road. Drivers in the UK represent the autistic. They have vehicles designed and constructed to suit a person sitting on the other side of the vehicle and traveling on the other side of the road.
Neurology is the design and construction of the vehicles for the driving process to function. This is where autism begins. Psychology is the side of the road that drivers travel on. This is where autism diverges from non-autistic thinking and behavior. Mental health is the process of driving. Notice that both drivers can get from point A to point B. I chose to compare autism to driving to demonstrate the close relationship that logic suggests autism has with a person’s mental health.
To test my conclusion, I applied my logic to another neurological condition. Epilepsy causes seizures that affect the body’s physical ability to function. It indirectly affects a person’s mental health because epilepsy does not change how our psychology functions. On the other hand, autism directly affects how our mind works, and from an early age as well. Therefore, autism affects the outcome of how we experience anxiety because it is neurodevelopmental in nature.
Autistic and non-autistic people look and function similarly. Yet we are more likely to make a structured or oppositional choice than someone who is not autistic. What many do not realize is that you cannot see this difference in us. I embrace choosing either an efficient or scenic route when I am driving. No one can see what I am thinking or why I do what I do.
You cannot see autism in our appearance.
#LetThatThinkIn
Welcome to the next Autism Experience.
A Beautiful Mind.
