Neurodivergent glossary
Acquired Neurodivergence
Neurological differences that develop after birth through injury, illness, or other events—including traumatic brain injury, stroke, and long COVID—rather than being present from the start.
What it means
Acquired neurodivergence refers to neurological differences that aren't present from birth but develop later due to brain injury, illness, or other medical events. Traumatic brain injury (TBI), stroke, long COVID, brain tumors, and certain infections can all produce lasting changes in cognition, sensory processing, executive function, and emotional regulation that overlap significantly with developmental neurodivergence.
The concept matters because conversations about neurodivergence have historically centered on conditions people are born with—autism, ADHD, dyslexia. But millions of people develop similar cognitive and sensory differences through acquired causes, and they often find more recognition and community in neurodivergent spaces than in traditional rehabilitation frameworks.
Including acquired neurodivergence in the broader conversation isn't about erasing the differences between developmental and acquired conditions—it's about acknowledging that the experience of having a brain that works differently from what society expects is shared across causes. The coping strategies overlap, the barriers overlap, and the need for accommodation and understanding overlaps.
In practice
What this can look like
- After a concussion, you develop sensory sensitivities and executive function difficulties that your doctor says should "resolve." A year later, they haven't. You find more useful coping strategies in ADHD and autism communities than in post-concussion resources.
- You had COVID in 2021. Two years later, you still have brain fog, word-finding difficulties, and sensory overload. Nobody in your medical team uses the word "neurodivergent," but that's exactly what your experience has become.
Context
Clinical context
Traumatic brain injury alone affects approximately 69 million people worldwide annually (Dewan et al., 2018). Long COVID cognitive symptoms, sometimes called "brain fog," share features with ADHD and autism-related executive dysfunction.
Community note
Some people with acquired neurodivergence feel uncertain about whether they "belong" in neurodivergent spaces. The growing consensus is that neurodivergence describes how your brain works now, not only how it was built—and that shared experience matters more than shared origin.
NeuroDiversion 2027
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