Growing up intellectually gifted in a household in which no one shares your cognitive intensity creates a kind of loneliness that cannot easily be named. It is more than being smart. You are just being who you naturally are, but, inevitably, you are out of sync with the world around you. One of the sad realities of being neurodivergent and out of sync with others in the family is that you inevitably feel oppressed or humiliated.
I'm glad we're starting to look at historical figures through the lens of neurodivergence (Documentary explores whether JMW Turner may have been neurodivergent, 10 November). But why give JMW Turner the benefit of 21st-century advances in neuroscience and not afford the same courtesy to his mother, Mary, who was believed to have had a psychiatric disorder and would fly into a dangerous temper? This language could have come straight from the admission papers that got her committed to a mental asylum. Jill Metcalfe Bottens, Switzerland
For many of us who are deeply rooted in the world of mountain biking, there's a certain draw to this kind of activity-one that is lost on much of the, quote unquote, "normal world." The adrenaline-fueled rush of ripping down a trail feels natural, the obsession over our bikes feels logical, and the unending pursuit of the perfect run, perfect trail, and perfect moment is part of what keeps many of us coming back for more
My close friends have several kids who are generally "OK" as kids. I've had some fun conversations with the kids as they've grown but my issue is one of the kids ("Alex") was babied (parents acknowledged this) and her behavior has really gotten out of hand. Think weaponized incompetence, neediness, unhelpful most of the time accompanied by extreme attitude and yelling at the parents when asked to do something she doesn't want to do, often relies on their other siblings to do things for them-and she's the oldest!
Douglass promises that pigeons, pigeons and more pigeons will be all we're getting, and, to stress the point, there's one circulating the stage strapped to a remote-controlled car.
Conversations around neurodivergence are often deficit-forward. The feedback in quarterly reviews often centers on a neurodivergent individual's symptoms rather than their accomplishments.