Naughty or Neurodivergent
Why some labels are more useful than others
Naughty, neurodivergent, or just normal childhood behaviour?
Yeah, I’m gonna need you to stop pathologizing childhood while refusing to actually identify and accept divergent neurotypes.
Apparently a certain television celebrity thinks that labelling a child as ADHD, Autistic, or “ABCD” (their words) is worse than labelling them as naughty.
I’m going to clear a few things up for them.
Firstly, it’s a diagnosis (not label) in medical terminology. I prefer to say identity because I see my Autism and ADHD as a neurotype and a unique way of thinking and being in the world, not an illness.
An accurate diagnosis may open the door to education, understanding, support, and acceptance. The label “naughty” gives zero opportunity for the adults to be taught better ways to respond to a child and meet that child’s needs.
In defense, some might say they are labelling the behaviour and not the child. They are simply teaching the child their behaviour is “unacceptable” or “inappropriate”.
That’s almost worse. A child who is acting out is actually experiencing stress, and we’re telling them their body’s natural way of responding…
