Neuro-diversity and the blurring of diagnostic categories -- So Many implications

Conjecture

Our ideas about Neuro-Developmental Disorders such as ADHD and Autism and Psychiatric Disorders are undergoing MAJOR REVISIONS.

The OLD WAY --- the DSM 5 way --- these are all DISTINCT DISORDERS with DISTINCT GENETICS and / or SOCIAL ENVIRONMENTAL ASPECTS of NEGLECT or ABUSE.

WHAT HAPPENED? The RESEARCH wasn't CORROBORATING these NEAT, DISTINCT CATEGORIES.

Researchers found GENETICS were important -- BUT they were often SHARED across CATEGORIES.

Maternal Immune Activation and Epigenetics are BIG DRIVERS of these DISORDERS as well as Environment.

Further, these "DISORDERS" often involve EXECUTIVE FUNCTIONING DIFFERENCES and SENSORY PROCESSING DIFFERENCES --- that are often NOT BEING WELL IDENTIFIED by the MENTAL HEALTH PROFESSION, the INDIVIDUALS THEMSELVES or the COMMUNITY because people are often NOT fitting into these NEAT, DISTINCT CATEGORIES.

If you were to have asked my parents if I had ADHD or Autism ---- they would have said that was RIDICULOUS --- she's a top student and very empathetic.

On the other hand, if you were to have asked them --- Does Val have problems with organization and emotional regulation?   Oh yeah, yeah, yeah --- but she seems to make it work.

Let me just say there  are REASONS why I and many others with NEURO-DEVELOPMENTAL / PSYCHIATRIC DISORDERS have HYPER-CONNECTED BRAINS and one of those REASONS -- we worked it just as hard as we could and we reached our LIMITS and it often wasn't pretty.

I would submit we now have a SIGNIFICANT PERCENTAGE of the POPULATION with  ATYPICAL HIGH LEVELS of DEVELOPMENTAL INFLAMMATION and often corresponding EXECUTIVE FUNCTIONING ISSUES.

The PROGNOSIS if we just continue as we have:

• EXECUTIVE FUNCTIONING ISSUES --- BAD
• TRY HARDER

​is not good.

We must identify those BIG STRENGTHS that often come with NEURO-DIVERSITY at the same time that we are providing practical WORK-AROUNDS for often IDIOSYNCRATIC EXECUTIVE FUNCTIONING CHALLENGES.

​Thinking twice about ADHD and autism spectrum disorder (2018)
--goes to the blurred nature of the two neuro-developmental disorders.

​Talk delivered by Professor Patrick Bolton, Professor of Child & Adolescent Neuropsychiatry, Department of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience at King's College London.