Black, Christian, and Neurodivergent

I text my mother the news about my neuropsychological evaluation. I was given a diagnosis that helped me finally say to myself for the first time in my life, “there’s nothing wrong with me.”

I was recently diagnosed with ADHD and Asperger’s (Autism). Everything in my life started making sense. The response from my mother was one of doubt, followed by a religious pivot to the truthful, but all too often cliched statement, “you are who God says you are.” Then, followed with that, a response of “they were putting labels on Black boys, and I didn’t want you to have one.”