So I figured out that I have ADHD two years ago and about six months later realized I am autistic, too. When I first got my ADHD diagnosis I was so angry and sad for that little girl who coasted through elementary and middle school, mostly sailed through high school and college, and then crashed and burned spectacularly in her thirties. Looking back it was so obvious.
As for the worst people on the internet, imagine how broken and joyless you must be to mock a child. Any child. My most fervent wish for this world is for every child to be loved and supported just as they are and for them to be so proud of their grownups they cry. What a beautiful world that would be.
But when i saw Gus's emotion of pride it moved me tremendously and gave me vicarious happiness. I'm a 62 year old father of three so I identified with Tim Walz and the happiness he must have felt. There are few better and longer lasting feelings for a parent than receiving that kind of affirmation from your child.
That anyone would try to take that moment and make it something to be ashamed of is repellent.
Having our oldest son diagnosed with ADHD at age 6 led to a retroactive diagnosis of my husband. He had a very difficult time first in school, then university, then in his career. His mother always told him he wasn’t trying hard enough academically, because he was smart but got horrible grades. He was also very disorganized and got sent to time management training by his boss.
I had the job of keeping track of a husband and 3 kids with varying degrees of neurodivergence. In addition to that, I think I am a high-functioning adult with ADD, so it’s no wonder our kiddos ended up neurospicy. (Also, oldest son is gay and youngest child is nonbinary, so I do a lot of advocacy for LGBTQ+)
I got my iADHD diagnosis when I was 53 (64 now). When I did, a lot of the previous 50 years made more sense. One of the lucky accidents that help me along was working in manufacturing. There’s alway a good excuse to get up and walk around a chemical plant rather than being tied to a desk. Based on my experience, I think one of the unexpected benefits of using industrial policy to bring manufacturing jobs back to the US is that manufacturing is a different work environment than office or service jobs. Its not for everyone, but for many neurodivergent people manufacturing will be a better fit than other types of jobs.
Thank you for this. I've been struggling to articulate my feelings about this situation, because while I don't care that Gus is neurodivergent in that nobody should be attacking kids for their emotions, period, I *do* care that he's not neurotypical for the reasons you've mentioned.
I’m feeling very salty with media outlets airing stories on the details of his diagnosis because a) He’s still a child and b) it’s nobody’s damn business besides his parents, teachers and doctors. I’m mom to a 22 year old with multiple disabilities including deaf blind and if someone aimed a camera at her like that I would be very upset. It’s completely outrageous the amount of attention this is getting- even on npr. There ought to be an agreement that press leaves minors alone. I realize his parents “revealed” his diagnosis to People but media need to drop this topic in my opinion. A young man felt high emotions about an overwhelming situation and a repugnant troll made fun of it in a public forum. They were wrong and horrible but an explanation is not owed to anyone. It was a charming and beautiful moment and I say Gus Walz For President of Everything. Thank you for sticking up for him. ❤️
I suppose I will not understand Neurodivergent because I adore merging into crowds (rather than standing out) and my gaze is so strong, bosses on interviews or psychiatrists. I've been accused of staring multiple times, even now as I've gone blind. I focus my gaze straight at a speaker's. Maybe that is another form of Neurodivergent, I don't know.
But there is a worse psychodivergence in the person who is bully. Is bully not is a bully because no person with any confidence of self, even those who may shun eye contact or avoid may be Neurodivergent, but are also Me (Noah), a personality beyond the quirks of personality that some bully has found worthy to label.
But bully is bully and nothing more than whatever ridicule he can heap upon them. All that he is really doing is castigating others out of his own lack of "me". Perhaps he was so castigated himself he lost his own "me"ness. There are possibilities of treatment of others that could always lead to alternative characteristic behaviors developing.
But the devoted bully is nothing more and has lost all devotion, not just to self but others, and because he has no self and feels others also have no self of "me"ness either and to maintain any personal value that he doesn't have and can't gain by his bullying.
Nothing particularly relvelatory, the only thing I am confused about is not the bully that I can send to tears, but the personalities who hang around, and bully wannabees that there just seems to me so many more of that there were in my youth. Is it true, or was I too ignorant to notice?
So I figured out that I have ADHD two years ago and about six months later realized I am autistic, too. When I first got my ADHD diagnosis I was so angry and sad for that little girl who coasted through elementary and middle school, mostly sailed through high school and college, and then crashed and burned spectacularly in her thirties. Looking back it was so obvious.
As for the worst people on the internet, imagine how broken and joyless you must be to mock a child. Any child. My most fervent wish for this world is for every child to be loved and supported just as they are and for them to be so proud of their grownups they cry. What a beautiful world that would be.
Thanks for this Noah.
I did not know anything about Gus Walz.
But when i saw Gus's emotion of pride it moved me tremendously and gave me vicarious happiness. I'm a 62 year old father of three so I identified with Tim Walz and the happiness he must have felt. There are few better and longer lasting feelings for a parent than receiving that kind of affirmation from your child.
That anyone would try to take that moment and make it something to be ashamed of is repellent.
Having our oldest son diagnosed with ADHD at age 6 led to a retroactive diagnosis of my husband. He had a very difficult time first in school, then university, then in his career. His mother always told him he wasn’t trying hard enough academically, because he was smart but got horrible grades. He was also very disorganized and got sent to time management training by his boss.
I had the job of keeping track of a husband and 3 kids with varying degrees of neurodivergence. In addition to that, I think I am a high-functioning adult with ADD, so it’s no wonder our kiddos ended up neurospicy. (Also, oldest son is gay and youngest child is nonbinary, so I do a lot of advocacy for LGBTQ+)
I got my iADHD diagnosis when I was 53 (64 now). When I did, a lot of the previous 50 years made more sense. One of the lucky accidents that help me along was working in manufacturing. There’s alway a good excuse to get up and walk around a chemical plant rather than being tied to a desk. Based on my experience, I think one of the unexpected benefits of using industrial policy to bring manufacturing jobs back to the US is that manufacturing is a different work environment than office or service jobs. Its not for everyone, but for many neurodivergent people manufacturing will be a better fit than other types of jobs.
My heart breaks for victims of bullies. How do we make it socially unacceptable to mock people for being different?
Thank you for this. I've been struggling to articulate my feelings about this situation, because while I don't care that Gus is neurodivergent in that nobody should be attacking kids for their emotions, period, I *do* care that he's not neurotypical for the reasons you've mentioned.
I’m feeling very salty with media outlets airing stories on the details of his diagnosis because a) He’s still a child and b) it’s nobody’s damn business besides his parents, teachers and doctors. I’m mom to a 22 year old with multiple disabilities including deaf blind and if someone aimed a camera at her like that I would be very upset. It’s completely outrageous the amount of attention this is getting- even on npr. There ought to be an agreement that press leaves minors alone. I realize his parents “revealed” his diagnosis to People but media need to drop this topic in my opinion. A young man felt high emotions about an overwhelming situation and a repugnant troll made fun of it in a public forum. They were wrong and horrible but an explanation is not owed to anyone. It was a charming and beautiful moment and I say Gus Walz For President of Everything. Thank you for sticking up for him. ❤️
I suppose I will not understand Neurodivergent because I adore merging into crowds (rather than standing out) and my gaze is so strong, bosses on interviews or psychiatrists. I've been accused of staring multiple times, even now as I've gone blind. I focus my gaze straight at a speaker's. Maybe that is another form of Neurodivergent, I don't know.
But there is a worse psychodivergence in the person who is bully. Is bully not is a bully because no person with any confidence of self, even those who may shun eye contact or avoid may be Neurodivergent, but are also Me (Noah), a personality beyond the quirks of personality that some bully has found worthy to label.
But bully is bully and nothing more than whatever ridicule he can heap upon them. All that he is really doing is castigating others out of his own lack of "me". Perhaps he was so castigated himself he lost his own "me"ness. There are possibilities of treatment of others that could always lead to alternative characteristic behaviors developing.
But the devoted bully is nothing more and has lost all devotion, not just to self but others, and because he has no self and feels others also have no self of "me"ness either and to maintain any personal value that he doesn't have and can't gain by his bullying.
Nothing particularly relvelatory, the only thing I am confused about is not the bully that I can send to tears, but the personalities who hang around, and bully wannabees that there just seems to me so many more of that there were in my youth. Is it true, or was I too ignorant to notice?