Indigo - New Age Label For Neurodivergents

 I read the book, THE CARE AND FEEDING OF INDIGO CHILDREN by Doreen Virtue, Ph.D.

 

I took a look at it,and I found that I could strongly relate to this stuff. Therefore, I bought the book. The more I read it, the more I

believed that Indigo Child seemed like a label for children with neurodivergence. I feel that New Agers created this label because of the skyrocketing increase of children with ADHD. The problem is that the ADHD is not just exclusive to children.

 

There has been an increase of diagnosing AD/HD in adults. Some were diagnosed AD/HD at 60 yrs old. In 2004, I was diagnosed inattentive type ADHD at the age of 32, and my mother told me that she can relate to many of the symptoms AD/HD and Dyslexia. From what my mother told me,my father seemed to have Dyslexia and AD/HD. From what I have seen in my mother's side of the family, numerous relatives have these AD/HD

traits. Everyone of my mother's 4 half-siblings dropped out of high school,and my mother never even went to high school. They did find their niches,and they did well in their careers except for my uncle Dino has gone through many jobs but he has learned many skills. My Uncle Eddie was always hyperactive. He was in special ed with speech problems like me. My step-grandmother refused to have him medicated because both her and my grandfather were hyperactive,and they weren't on medication. It seems that hyperactivity runs in the family. With knowing these things, I do not believe in Indigo generation nor the Indigo label itself. The label is not going to help a child with problems with learning to read and communicate as well as learn. Special education helped correct my Dyslexic,Dyspraxic problems,and so I am a compensated Dyslexic,Dyspraxic. As for the AD/HD, I really don't think it's a problem. I honestly feel that it's an alternative learning style that doesn't fit well with mainstream classroom,and I feel the same about Dyslexia and Dyspraxia. I also feel that because of their sensitivity, the wrong foods can affect them in adverse ways. I also feel that the fluorescent lights in the classrooms can make them feel uncomfortable and can exacerbate AD/HD, Dyspraxic and Dyslexic symptoms. Fluorescent lights can make Scotopic Sensitivity worse. The fluorescent lights can make people with Scotopic Sensitivity have problems seeing black print on white paper due to reflection of the light on the paper.

 

Here are things in the book that I read that pertains to neurodivergent conditions. 

 

page 100, Indigos may seem awkward or clumsy and may be labeled a having delayed motor skill functioning

(those are symptoms of Dyspraxia)

 

page 101, Talking and reading may also seem unnatural to Indigo

Children, who intuitively know that more accurate and honest

conversation is available through telepathy

(speech delays/problems are early warning signs of  Dyslexia,Dyspraxia,Autism)

 

page 11, Indigo Children are exquisitely sensitive in many ways. They may have been subject to taunts such as "You're too sensitive," yet their sensitivity is a spiritual gift equivalent to a detecting instrument.

(that can be sensory integration disorder, sensory integration issues which are common in Dyslexics,Dyspraxics,and ADHDers but highest in the autistic spectrum conditions)

 

page 172, Because right-brained people have such acute senses, they're easily distracted. They can hear every little click of the school clock's hand, and the high pitch of the fluorescent lighting.

(that can be Dyslexics,Dyspraxics,ADHDers,and people with autistic spectrum conditions)

 

page 97, one of the reasons why Indigo Children are so good at

manifesting is because they processing information primarily through mental pictures. They are skilled visualizers and can easily develop a photographic memory. They think and learn mainly in pictures

(Dyslexics,Autistics,and a lot of ADHDers think mainly in pictures instead of words)

 

page 113, Sensitive Indigo Children aren't just affected by the

physical properties of their bedrooms; they're also influenced by the invisible nontangibles in their rooms. Music, lighting,and scent and can make a big difference in your children's sleeping patterns,

moods,and energy levels.

(again....this can be sensory integration disorder,sensory integration issues that are common in Dyslexia,Dyspraxia,ADHD, but highest in the autistic spectrum conditions)

 

page 6, Indigos are highly creative children,and think outside the box. This thinking style has created many of the world's breakthrough inventions

(this type of thinking is in Dyslexics,Dyspraxics,ADHDers,and autistic spectrum conditions)

 

page 171, Indigo Children, gifted children, who are labeled ADD or ADHD and adult lightworkers are almost always rightbrain dominant. This means that they interact with the world primarily with the right hemisphere of their brain, which focuses upon visions and feeling and relates to nonverbal studies such as art, music, math, philosophy,psychology,and psychic arts. Right brain - dominant people can make excellent writers and speakers, provided they learn how to translatetheir mental pictures and strong internal feelings into the world.

(this can apply to Dyslexics,Dypraxics,ADHDers,and people with autistic spectrum conditions)

 

There was talk about psychic abilities and visions. I didn't get into that stuff. Those aren't symptoms of learning disabilities. Many neuroivergent people have the common sense to keep those things secret from people that they know that they can't trust with those things including especially psychiatrists. However; in the book,the BIPOLAR CHILD, learning disabilities was listed as one of the common symptoms and traits in bipolar children. Oversensitivity to environmental influences was listed as one of the very common symptoms and traits in bipolar children. Many children that were diagnosed as ADHD are now believed to have been actually Bipolar.That's the same with adults now believed to have ADHD,and many ADHD adults have talked about how their ADHD was misdiagnosed as bipolar. Many children are being on antipsychotic drug, Risperdal for Bipolar. It's approved for autistic spectrum conditions,and it has been used off label for behavior problems of ADHD.

 

I was a special ed student for 3 yrs in elementary school. If it wasn't for special education(motor skills therapy,auditory therapy,speech therapy,phonics training, I would always had severe problems with language processing and very poor motor skills because of my Dyslexia and Dyspraxia. I have had psychiatric misdiagnoses of psychotic,bipolar crap by psychiatrists in adulthood because they were ignorant of my Dyslexic,Dyspraxic nature. I have history of anxiety and depression. I have always have been extremely sensitive on every level too. I was referred to as being "special" by my mother and stepfather. After all, I had special needs. I was in special education. A lot of people had no idea how much I hated that word. You know how some people say "Oh..You think that you are so special!" to cut you down. They didn't know they were talking to somebody that had special needs and was a special ed student. I definitely believe that Indigo Child is just a New Age copout label for people like myself. I don't believe in the Indigo Child propaganda.

 

I believe that Indigo Child is an umbrella term for people with atypical neurological systems(ADHDers,Dyslexics,Dyspraxics,other Learning Disabled,Aspergers,Autistics) like myself. They have always existed.

 

There is nothing new about people like us. We're the types that have been in self contained special education classes,special schools,group homes,doped up on heavy antipsychotics,gave us lobotomies,or locked us up in asylums. Our types were probably burnt at the stake in other time periods. In modern times, we just have more awareness of the diversity of neurological make-ups in people. We have a very long way to go for society to tolerate and accept neurodiversity which is shown by the skyrocketing increase of neurodivergent people on psychiatric medications.