Inborn/Acquired Binary

Some forms of neurodivergence are genetic and present before birth. Others are acquired by physical changes that occur in the body and brain. Others are developed and learned as a result of life experiences.

Or at least, that’s how we usually think about neurodivergence – but in reality, of course, they all intersect in everyone. Everyone is a combination of our DNA, our bodies, and our lived experiences. Every experience is experienced by the brains and bodies we already have. 

Popular “trauma-informed” discourse often frames experience and psychological traits like a reliable formula: This Experience plus That Experience equals This Psychological State. In my last post, I talked about the assumption that neurodivergence-causing experiences are inherently negative. But aside from the value judgment, there’s also the reality that this view of formative experiences just isn’t that simple. There are some broad correlations that people who have certain types of experiences tend… in general… to have certain kinds of responses. But it is not universal or definite. There is no way to definitively predict how someone with certain experiences will “turn out.” There is no way to look at someone’s behavior or mental state and know what kind of experience “made them that way.” Everyone’s responses to their experience is shaped by every other factor in their lives, their past experiences, their brains, their choices and values, and so much more. 

A manifestation of neurodiversity hierarchy is that some forms of neurodivergence are inborn, and those should be accepted, but other forms of neurodivergence come about from life experiences, and those should be prevented. This argument is used to exclude some neurodivergent people from the neurodivergent community. Experience and biology aren’t a binary. Everyone has both. And everyone deserves acceptance.