Beyond the Binary: the Spiky Reality of Neurodivergence

For decades, the conversation around neurodivergence—specifically Autism and ADHD—has been dominated by a linear metric: the functioning label.

You are either "high functioning" (meaning you can hold a job and make eye contact) or "low functioning" (meaning you require visible, substantial support).

This binary is not just scientifically outdated; it is actively dangerous.

It relies on the false assumption that human capacity is a smooth, flat line. It assumes that if you are intelligent, articulate, and capable in the boardroom, you must also be capable of managing your laundry, regulating your sensory input, and cooking dinner.

But neurodivergence isn't a flat line. It is a topography of extreme peaks and profound valleys. This is known as the Spiky Profile, and understanding it is the only way to dismantle the damaging myth of "high functioning."

The Illusion of the Linear Spectrum

The general population typically follows a "flat" or "rolling hill" profile of development. If a neurotypical person has an IQ of 100, their verbal reasoning, processing speed, working memory, and executive function usually hover relatively close to that baseline.

Neurodivergence is defined by asynchronous development—developing skills at vastly different rates (e.g., having the vocabulary of an adult but the emotional regulation of a toddler).

The Core Misunderstanding: The label "High Functioning" is a measure of how much your disability affects those around you, not how much it affects you.

When society labels someone "high functioning," they are usually identifying a person's Peaks. They see the hyper-focus, the pattern recognition, or the specialized knowledge. They assume that because the peaks are high, the ground beneath them is solid.

In reality, a person labeled "high functioning" is often simply High Masking. They are using their high intellect to manually perform social and executive tasks that other brains perform automatically. This comes at an immense energy drain and cognitive cost that the "functioning" label ignores entirely.

Visualizing the Landscape: The Spiky Profile

To understand the neurodivergent brain, we must stop looking at it as a gradient (mild to severe) and start looking at it as a scatter plot or an equalizer board on a stereo system.

The Peaks (The "Strengths") These are the traits that get a person hired or praised.

• Hyper-focus: The ability to work on a passion project for 10 hours straight.

  
  

• Pattern Recognition: Seeing trends in data that others miss.

  
  

• Justice Sensitivity: A deep moral drive to correct wrongs.

  
  

The Valleys (The "Deficits") These are the traits that, when paired with high peaks, are often mistaken for laziness or carelessness.

• Interoception Issues: The inability to feel internal body signals—forgetting to eat, drink, or use the restroom until it becomes an emergency.

  
  

• Executive Dysfunction: The physical inability to initiate a task (like sending an email), regardless of the desire to do it.

  
  

• Sensory Overload: The inability to filter out background noise, leading to a neurological crash.

  
  

The Danger Zone: The disparity between the Peak and the Valley is where the trauma occurs. If you have a PhD (Peak) but cannot manage to brush your teeth regularly (Valley), society does not see a disability. Because you have the PhD, society views the dental hygiene issue as a character flaw.

The Cost of the Misnomer

When we apply the "High Functioning" label, we strip the individual of their right to struggle. This leads to three specific dangers:

1. The Denial of Support Medical and educational systems often gatekeep support based on IQ or verbal ability. If a student is perceived "High Functioning" academically, they may be denied accommodations for sensory processing or emotional regulation. The system assumes that because they can do the work, they are fine doing the work.

2. The "Lazy" Narrative For a neurodivergent person, the gap between their potential (Peaks) and their reality (Valleys) is often a source of immense shame.

• The Thought Process: "I am smart enough to solve complex coding problems; why am I too stupid to fill out this form?"

  
  

• The Result: Internalized ableism. The individual believes they are broken, rather than understanding they have an uneven cognitive profile.

  
  

3. The Neurodivergent Burnout Loop "High Functioning" is not a static state; it is a performance. Maintaining that performance requires manual cognitive effort. The eventual drain on cognitive resources results in Burnout—a state where the "Peaks" collapse, and the individual loses access to skills they normally possess. This loss of capacity can be severe and prolonged. It isn't that the knowledge is gone; it is that the neurological fuel required to access and execute that knowledge is depleted. The mislabeled "High Functioning" employee suddenly cannot get out of bed or speak. Because their struggle was invisible, their collapse is viewed as sudden and inexplicable, rather than the result of years of unsustainable effort.

Moving Toward a Contextual Model

It is critical to move from "functioning levels" to "contextual understanding.

Human capacity is dynamic. A neurodivergent individual appears "High Functioning" in a quiet room with clear instructions and "Low Functioning" in a fluorescent-lit grocery store with a vague shopping list.

True acceptance of neurodiversity requires:

• Acknowledging the Spikes: Celebrating strengths without using them to invalidate struggles.

  
  

• Validating the Valleys: Decoupling executive dysfunction from failure.

  
  

• Retiring the Labels: Moving away from functioning labels toward support-needs labels (e.g., "Low support needs for communication, high support needs for sensory regulation").

  
  

The goal is not to flatten the spikes. The goal is to build a world that accommodates the topography.

Support That Honors the Topography

Understanding the Spiky Profile is the first step; having the right tools to navigate it is the second.

If you are looking for strategies designed to support the valleys without flattening the peaks, we invite you to explore our comprehensive resources.

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