Autism and other neurodiverse conditions are more and more frequently diagnosed and it seems a very recent phenomenon, but the genes involved are old, some very ancient going back far to a time before primate evolution. Many neurodiverse people have the “Wrong Planet” syndrome and feel they weren’t born for this world. Frequently neurodiverse people suffer from low self-esteem, feeling they aren’t good enough for this world, and often from second-guessing themselves and even self-loathing.
I have been arguing that neurodiverse people have genetic hunter-gatherer heritage and aren’t really “calibrated” for a farmer-herder world. The high-sensitivity (HSPs) that is common in neurodiverse people is such an evolutionary mismatch. Hunter-gatherers need to perceive their environment much more “deeply” than farmer-herders and it is therefore not surprising that they are much more sensitive to physical stimuli like sound and light than their farmer-herder type peers.
We neurodiverse are often too much (hyper) or too little (hypo) for this world. I suppose that is one reason why it is so hard to find us in statistics because we tend to fall on both sides of the average. Here are some examples I have collected over the past years:
- Hyperlexic- hypolexic (aka dyslexic)
- Hypersensitive to pain - hyposensitive to pain
- hyper- and hypo-reactivity
- Emotions can be flatter or more exaggerated and extreme (bipolar)
- Frequent preterm or postterm birth
- Significantly below (learning disabilities) or above average IQ (giftedness)
- Hypersocial or hyposocial
- Too much empathy - too little empathy
- Too skinny - extremely overweight
- Too short - too tall
- Hyposexual - hypersexual
I have written about most of these extremes in previous blogs. E.g. people on the spectrum frequently have an ectomorph body type (skinny) but at the same time about 40% of children on the spectrum are overweight. I have argued that the lightweight ectomorph body type is an adaptation to hunting. However, farmer food (grain, dairy) might be a severe problem for hunter-gatherer types and hypothyroidism and gastrointestinal problems are frequently comorbid.
Hypersocial might come as a surprise to many people. However, I have argued that hunter-gatherer types are more “out-group” social and should therefore find fewer barriers to making friends. Patterns in female ADHD confirm my assumption. Girls are often more extraverted than boys and patterns of female ADHD are the exact opposite of male ASD:
While girls generally mature faster than boys, girls with ADHD experience significant lags in social and emotional maturity compared to non-ADHD peers. Many girls with ADHD tend to be hyper-talkative, hyper-social, and hyper-emotional, rather than hyperactive. Physical restlessness often manifests in fidgeting with hair or nails, rather than leaving their seats.
So, too social and too talkative. Having two neurodiverse boys and two neurodiverse girls I tend to find the same patterns with my own children. While the boys struggle making friends, the girls want to be friends with everyone.
My aim is that people understand that this “too much-too little” doesn’t translate into worse or better, but that neurodiverse people simply have different adaptations. The world of hunter-gatherers has almost completely disappeared now, but it’s neurodiverse people who typically change the world and they typically also want to make the world a better place for everyone, not only themselves.
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