Everything changed. You’re not crazy. If you watch movies made before the 2000s about office culture, including the movie 9 to 5, you can see that the hours included a lunch break. Which was paid.
Yes, those of the older generation had it easier in every way.
Spot on with the “I’d really like to get the depression under control before I let you function at your job.”
Because fixing the unfixable is somehow more important than making sure I keep my job so I can like…eat. And live indoors. And afford the healthcare that is paying them.
Yeah, here’s the thing about dating another neurodivergent person: their needs may be exactly what your boundaries are. For example, someone who is completely touch averse pairing with someone who is touch seeking and rejection sensitive. And since they’re not trying to be malicious but both of you are more or less intractable because you can only change or compromise on your needs through heavy and painful masking, it can be disastrous.
Also, neurodivergent people can be more ableist than allistic due to how they’ve internalized criticism and taught themselves to mask.
Now this is all situational and a neurotypical person can be the same way, which is why I say it really doesn’t matter if you date a neurodivergent person or a neurotypical person. It’s about finding a partner that can empathize and respects you.
Childfree =/= antinatalist
Your friend refers to LGBTQIA as referring to “aspects of non-cisgendered life” and it makes me doubt their understanding of the community because there are plenty of cisgendered people within the community…less the obvious exceptions.
Also autism symptoms can overlap and it would be extremely hard to find a label for your specific combinations of symptoms.
LGBTQIA+ started as separate communities that came together. ASD is already one community, it didn’t start as disparate communities based on a single set of extremely varied symptoms.
The closer answer is “Neurodivergent” encompassing ASD, ADHD, and others. ASD is accurate whereas neurodivergent is the umbrella term.