I’ve thought of this so many times and I agree with you.
As we’ve essentially homogenized human society and the roles required to sustain said society, we (neurodivergents) have indeed become less and less fit for the environment we’ve chosen to make.
I once heard this great take on neurodiversity’s role in creating groups of people with ‘specialized’ functions that served the larger group as a whole (I’m taking pre-modern/hunter gatherer tribes). What we call neurodivergence was simply a brain wired to complement or even enhance neurotypical brain functions and vice versa. The brain was evolving to become as diverse as the rest of our bodies, as equity helps ensure survival.
The way I see it, we are like puzzle pieces that fit together to make each other stronger as a unit. We are not simple shapes that one stacks together in an attempt to make structure. I’m sure there’s a much better analogy out there, but this is what my mind has been working on for some time now.
BennyInc@feddit.org 2 weeks ago
I just read that book about Henry Markram. One of his points is that autism is genetic, but how much and by when it shows depends on the calmness of the upbringing of the child in the first years. Him having grown up in a peaceful African village let his brain grow different from what children nowadays experience with information overflow and just overstimulation in general. So yeah, the environment we create (in general) could lead to more autism in a way.
FireRetardant@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
Also upbringing could significantly impact the development, or lack of, coping skills for individuals. A kid with autism growing up in an environment where they can develop skills to help manage their autism may grow up without ever knowing they were autistic. Same coud be on the reverse where stricit restrictions could reduce the coping skills and exacerbate some of the difficulties that come with autism.