Neurodivergence Is Not the Problem. It’s the Proof.

How standardized systems suppressed our wild minds—and why the rise of neurodivergence may be a sign of evolution, not disorder.

Sanctuary Dispatch I Friday Reflections from the Wild Path

The Soft Rebellion

For more than a century, society has been shaped by systems that value compliance over creativity, sameness over soul, and productivity over presence.

The modern school system, often traced back to the industrial age and heavily influenced by figures like John D. Rockefeller, wasn’t designed to awaken minds—it was designed to train workers.

Rockefeller, a titan of the oil industry, helped fund the General Education Board in 1903 with the explicit aim of standardizing education in America. He once said,

“I don’t want a nation of thinkers. I want a nation of workers.”

Whether taken literally or as symbolic of the era’s mindset, the sentiment still echoes in the structure of schools today: sit still, follow directions, memorize, comply.

It was never about curiosity. It was about control.

And for a long time, it worked.

We were taught to override our instincts. To stay in line. To fit in. To suppress the spark that asked too many questions or wandered too far off script.

But spells—especially ones cast through fear and repetition—don’t last forever.

We are living in the unraveling now. The breaking open. The remembering.

And in that remembering, we are seeing a powerful rise in what the medical world calls neurodivergence.

Terms like ADHD, autism spectrum disorder, sensory processing disorder, and others are being used more frequently than ever. The CDC reports that ADHD diagnoses in children have steadily increased for decades, and studies show that autism diagnoses have jumped significantly as well, particularly in recent years as awareness and self-advocacy grow.

But what if this isn’t just increased awareness or a rise in “disorder”?

What if it’s evolution? What if more people are waking up because the system is losing its grip?

What if these “disorders” are actually sacred divergences—ways of thinking and being that don’t match the machinery of capitalism and colonialism because they were never meant to?

What if the neurodivergent mind—creative, intuitive, nonlinear, sensitive, emotionally rich—is not a deviation from the norm, but a return to our true nature?

There’s a reason many people with ADHD struggle in traditional classrooms or office jobs. It’s not because they are incapable—it’s because those environments demand a kind of numbing that their systems reject.

It’s not dysfunction. It’s refusal.

It’s the body saying: “This is not how we are meant to live.”

And yet, we still live in a society that prizes conformity. One that rarely pauses to ask why certain behaviors are considered problematic. One that prefers to medicate rather than adapt. One that still values productivity over presence, and efficiency over empathy.

But something is changing.

More and more people—especially women and adults who were missed by a diagnostic system centered on boys and outdated criteria—are discovering their neurodivergence later in life. Not because something is “wrong,” but because something inside them is waking up and saying: This isn’t working. This was never meant for me.

And maybe, just maybe, that voice isn’t pathology. Maybe it’s prophecy.

Of course, none of this is to deny the very real struggles many neurodivergent people face. The world we live in is not built for divergent minds. And that means daily friction, burnout, sensory overload, social exclusion, and systemic failures that create deep pain and exhaustion. This isn’t romanticism—it’s reality.

But alongside that reality lives a deeper truth: there is profound wisdom in the way neurodivergent people experience the world. There is beauty in their sensitivity, strength in their resistance, and brilliance in their alternative rhythms.

What if we stopped asking how to “fix” these minds, and started asking how to honor them?

What if we redesigned systems—schools, workplaces, communities—to support diverse ways of thinking and being?

What if we finally remembered that the world isn’t meant to be uniform?

That wildness is not a flaw, but a force?

There may come a time when we no longer call it “neurodivergence” at all.

Because divergence implies a norm—and that norm is crumbling.

We are on the edge of a new way.

And the ones who never fit are the ones who will show us how to live.

They are not the problem.

They are the proof that the old system is dying—and something more human, more soulful, more whole—is being born.

Sources:

• Armstrong, T. The Power of Neurodiversity: Unleashing the Advantages of Your Differently Wired Brain.

• Gatto, J. T. Dumbing Us Down: The Hidden Curriculum of Compulsory Schooling.

• Walker, N. “Neurodiversity: Some Basic Terms & Definitions.”

• CDC ADHD Data and Statistics (https://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/adhd/data.html)

• Autism and Developmental Disabilities Monitoring (ADDM) Network Reports

Sanctuary Dispatch

Friday Reflections from the Wild Path

This is where the personal meets the political, and care becomes a form of resistance.

Each dispatch is part of The Soft Rebellion—a movement rooted in clear seeing, collective care, and the courage to act.

These reflections rise from the ground we stand on, and ripple through The Soft Rebellion: Local Chapter in Metro Northwest Massachusetts.

✨ Learn more and apply to join the local chapter:

www.spreadingthecheer.com/softrebellion