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When my eldest was first getting diagnosed with autism, my partner & I wondered whether giving him a "label" was the right thing to do. Maybe the label would stigmatise him or hold him back. Maybe it would be better to accept him and everything he was without needing to name it
The book Freaks, Geeks, and Asperger Syndrome by Luke Jackson tipped the scales. Luke describes his autism diagnosis as being a positive thing. We pursued the diagnosis but still worried about the potential negatives of having a label.
For us, as parents, the label was helpful. It made it easier to describe to other people that our child was different, how and why he was different. It we had just said "He doesn& #39;t like change" or "he only eats these foods" people wouldn& #39;t have accepted it as much.
Not that they always accepted or understood it. But it helped). It also helped us as parents give up the idea that maybe if we were stricter we could make him be "more normal". Instead we could figure out how to work with his neurodivergence, not against it.
He can& #39;t tell us what difference the label made because he& #39;s had it as long as he can remember. But I acquired my own label 18 months ago and it has made a maHOOOsively positive difference. I& #39;ve spoken before about how it helped me stop berating myself to "try harder"...
... as if my difficulties were merely due to lack of effort. Instead my mantra now is "try something else" which has been life-changing. But here I want to mention another benefit - finding a community of others with the same label. This gives a sense of belonging and ...
... overcomes the feeling of being an outcast or space alien https://twitter.com/ADHD_Alien .">https://twitter.com/ADHD_Alie... It also empowers people to define their labels themselves. The DSMV definition of ADHD describes what the condition looks like to neurotypical people. Mainly it describes how boys with ADHD ...
... challenge their parents and teachers. But adults and girls with ADHD have formed communities online and IRL where they endlessly discuss "Does anyone else....?" e.g. "Does anyone else have trouble with object permanence?"
E.g. this thread https://twitter.com/vartian/status/1274852542460166145">https://twitter.com/vartian/s... We can claim our own label and define it in terms of how it affects us, not how it inconveniences our NT teachers and parents. That& #39;s massively empowering! It has been more help to me than my psychiatrist or my prescription ever have
So yay! for labels, and boo! to people who oppose them. Labels help. Belonging helps. Self understanding helps. Communities empowering themselves help.
(This thread is long and probably has tons of typos and infelicities. Not gonna apologise. Hello! 
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