Neurodivergence vs Neurodivergence

A Times magazine article this weekend told a personal story about living with dyslexia. Unfortunately, the headline and framing let the subject down badly.

The headline read:
“Dyslexia is the worst…I wish I had ADHD,” and it was critical that ‘…teacher training focuses on ADHD and autism…’

While the article did well in describing the frustration with the lack of support for dyslexic children, the choice of headline and editing was clumsy at best and divisive at worst.

The growing use of terms like neurodiversity and neurodivergent is a welcome and positive shift.

These terms help to reframe conditions like autism, ADHD, and dyslexia not as disorders or deficits, but simply as different ways of thinking and experiencing the world.

However, lumping all these varied experiences under one umbrella means that comparisons, like “which is worse’ are inevitable.

It’s important to share personal stories about the struggles individuals face, especially when navigating systems built for neurotypical people.

But framing these stories in a way that pits one condition against another is unhelpful.

It feeds a narrative of competition, rather than understanding.

The journalists and editors in this case have done the family and the broader neurodiversity movement no favours with this kind of slanted editing.

They forget that every individual’s experience is unique, and many people experience more than one neurodivergent condition.

Clickbait headlines might sell, but they undermine the message and the people behind it. 

Did you read the article? What did you think? Let me know here.