ableism

Why Some Commonly Used Language Hurts People with Atypical Neurology

Why Some Commonly Used Language Hurts People with Atypical Neurology

I am, by cultural standards, perceived to be highly intelligent and reasonably sane. In spite of that, these words hurt me. They hurt me because I know what's underneath my "intelligent" and "sane" surface, and what it costs me energetically to maintain appearances such that I am (marginally) acceptable to society. I am multiply neurodivergent, and most of the words I referenced – in addition to many others – have been used against me at one time or another; not as general insults, but as criticism of self-expression on my part that was deemed confusing or bothersome in some way by someone else.