Year: 2025
Type: article
Abstract: This article examines the ways in which language and conceptions of neurodivergent conditions, autism and ADHD, are connected in a Danish context. As in other Western countries, there are significant increases in diagnoses, and particularly women are being diagnosed in adulthood. The article focuses on how these conditions are perceived and talked about, utilizing concepts such as othering, labeling, and performativity. The analysis suggests that when individuals feel othered and stigmatized by diagnostic labels, it has less to do with the labels themselves and more to do with the connotations and pathologization connected with the labels. Furthermore, the analysis shows generational differences in terms of both terminology and perceptions of neurodivergence.
Author: Katrine K Bechsgaard
Institution: University of Copenhagen
Language: English
Subfield: Safety Research
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
SDG: Reduced inequalities
Open Access status: diamond
OpenAlex ID: W4411111977