You seem to think I am taking a swipe at those people diagnosed with ADHD or Autism. I am not. I have no problem with people getting diagnosed with such things, I have an issue with people diagnosing themselves with such things.

I am not sure if I have ADHD or not, possibly, it doesn't matter to me if I have or haven't. I have never held a full-time job, I have multiple freelance jobs and I make life work around me. That's fine. I don't work well in teams - but I do work well. That's by the by.

Neurodiversity, as it was originally brought into the literature was about the diversity of brain structures within autistic people. See other comments in this structure. This means if you have autism and/or ADHD then there will be some diversity in how your brain is structured, but that this presentation still results in autism or ADHD traits.

However, the word has been bastardised and passed into the lay population to mean 'I feel different from other people and that must mean i'm neurodiverse'.

My issue here is two-fold. First of all, doing this puts HUGE strain on services which offer diagnoses, it means that we might be missing people who are genuinely in need of help, because we're flooded with people who have decided prima-facie, based on the fact they've lost their keys a few times that they need chemical intervention. This means someone like you would be on a mammoth waiting list. Your life-changing diagnosis (which is important to you) is now further down in a queue and you have to wait to be seen. You were seen, your life has got better. Brilliant. Thumbs up. The prevalence of 'neurodivergence' as a misused term makes it harder not easier for people like you to be seen.

My second issue is more long term. That is, if ADHD and Autism via 'generic neurodivergence' become 'opt-in', then the general population will become quizzical when people opt out again. Perhaps the underlying condition (lets say social anxiety) is resolved by CBT. They then have cured themselves of 'autism'. You and I both know that is not going to happen - but over time this will lead others to believe that autism itself is a sort of 'made up' thing that you can opt in and out of - it will reduce not raise the collective compassion society holds for people who are genuinely different.

So, for those reasons, I don't consider this article to be a slap in the face - though I can see why you may think it is. Thanks for coming along and helping draw out the discussion. That's what Medium is for - it's a marketplace of ideas and you've brought yours very strongly.