Hi, if you identify as on the spectrum, neurodiverse, ASD, ADHD - I would be curious if your family is multicultural, and if you or a relative has moved to a foreign country or lives in a foreign country. For example, I have grandparents on both parents side who moved abroad. I moved abroad myself as an adult, and have a sibling who has done so as well.
This seems to be a response to feeling alien in one’s own culture, therefore having less of an incentive of staying. And then it increases the alien-ness for the next generation. I wonder where are correlation and causation here. Maybe they just intertwine, like some neurofunky globetrotter’s dna.
Yup.
To clarify I have ADHD, my dad definitely also had it, and my mother has neurodivergent signs as well. My whole family is scattered across the continents, though. My dad was a novelty seeker (as am I) but our reasons for leaving are due to a change in political climate (and the uncertainty that caused)
My sister lives in the origin country, but all of her children have left, each one having gone to a different country (and not where I ended up)
Third edit: one example of why I think my mother shows neurodivergent signs: she won’t eat salad in the winter. She thinks you’re not supposed to. (She grew up where leafy greens were not available during the winter time, but has internalized that as a rule even though she lives somewhere that lettuce is available year round)
Yeah, but even in a situation of uncertainty, isn’t there still an element of choice often? (Of course I don’t know if it was the case for your family, just that not every situation is and all or nothing thing)
My grandpa could have quickly moved home when he was let out of prisoner camp in the Balkans, but he stayed and ended up marrying a local. And she, equally strange, insisted in both of them moving to his country after a few years, where she lived as an eternally weird half integrated foreigner with a lot of strange habits and strong opinions.
My other grandpa could have decided to stay in the DDR. He wasn’t persecuted, he wasn’t in trouble, he just didn’t like the political direction things were taking there, and so he and his wife decided to move to Western Germany.
For sure.
I didnt really realize how different my family was from other people for a long time. I don’t know most of them well enough to know what the prevelance of neurodiversion is. It’s just too hard to say why each of them went where they did… but at least with my dad, his behaviours and mine are alike enough that I can guess I got my ADHD from him. He died a long while back so I can’t know for sure… but he was always all over the place. He even died in a different country on vacation!