A Majority of Brits Call Themselves "Neurodivergent"
Self-diagnoses of autism, dyslexia, and dyspraxia (whatever that is) have swept England.
From the Times of London (via Marginal Revolution):
A majority of Britons may now consider themselves neurodivergent, meaning they have a condition such as autism, dyslexia or dyspraxia, according to a leading psychologist.
I had assumed dyspraxia was a tendency to hit your thumb rather than the nail when hammering, but it’s more, oh, so much more:
Francesca Happé, professor of cognitive neuroscience at the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience at King’s College London, said reduced stigma around these conditions had led more people both to seek medical diagnoses and to self-diagnose.
She said: “There’s a lot more tolerance, which is good — particularly among my children’s generation, who are late teens and early adults, where people are very happy to say ‘I’m dyslexic’, ‘I’m ADHD [attention deficit hyperactivity disorder]’.”
The triumph of minoritarianism (the belief in the greatest good for the smallest numbers of officially victimized and thus privileged people) inevitably leads to minorities becoming the majority.
Sounds more respectable than 'eccentric'
Doesn't the English government encourage mental illness diagnoses? I thought they handed out perks, giving students more time to take tests and the like. As one student said, "If your parents don't get you an autism/anxiety/ADHD diagnosis [and more time to take tests], then your parents don't love you."
Also believe it or not, TikTok has added to the welfare state's woes. Previously, most handout schemes were buried in obscure documents. The government could expect that only a small percentage of eligible people would use them. However, people now broadcast the schemes on TikTok, comparing which angles squeeze the most money etc. So they're being juiced beyond their designed capacity. E.g. the government may have budgeted the scheme for 5% of eligible users; now it's being used by 20%.