Long before this was mainstream a misdiagnosis of ADHD and then autism led me on a decadeslong course of therapy and treatment that ultimately didn't address my

Long before this was mainstream a misdiagnosis of ADHD and then autism led me on a decadeslong course of therapy and treatment that ultimately didn't address my issues. It was even worse since I was a child at the time labeled by people I was supposed to trust and could not comprehend the true meaning of these terms, so I grew up into an adult assuming what they told me was the truth, the whole time. Because of their actual role in my issues, I now know that nothing they could have labeled me with would have helped me and allowed them to take responsibility for my poor treatment. All to say that the map is not the territory, and leaping to conclusions at the first label that sounds like it fits the bill can have devastating consequences. And as in my case, labels can be used to shift the blame away from the caretaker responsible for trauma/etc. by medicalizing the consequences, or onto an existence that is perceived to be unchangeable/futile to address.