9/26 The Full Spectrum of Neurodivergence

Like every semester we are going to have a meeting about what Neurodiversity is for all our new members.

We’ll unpack how this term connects to so many brain–body conditions that shape thinking, attention, movement, and sensory experience — including dyslexia, Tourette’s, epilepsy, migraines, POTS, Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome, OCD, traumatic brain injury, seizure disorders, chronic pain, and more.

For many people, neurodivergence isn’t a label they were born with — it’s something they grew into through chronic illness, trauma, or medical events that changed how their brains function. These stories deserve space, too.

We’ll talk about:

• The difference between developmental, acquired, and systemic neurodivergence

• How chronic illness, fatigue, and pain overlap with executive dysfunction and sensory processing

• Why the medical system often fails people whose neurodivergence doesn’t fit neat categories

• The language politics of “disorder” vs. “divergence”

• How shared experiences — overstimulation, brain fog, emotional regulation — unite diverse conditions under one umbrella

• Why the neurodiversity movement must include disabled and chronically ill voices