In recent years, awareness of ADHD and autism has skyrocketed. Social media feeds are flooded with hashtags like #neurodivergent and #ADHDlife, and discussions about executive dysfunction and sensory processing are becoming mainstream. At first glance, this seems like progress—greater awareness, more resources, and communities forming around shared experiences. But beneath the surface, a troubling trend is emerging. The attention economy—a system designed to monetize focus—is increasingly exploiting neurodivergent individuals, preying on their attention, finances, and wellbeing.
The Rise of Neurodivergent Awareness in a Monetized World
ADHD and autism are neurological differences, not mere trends. Yet, the surge in awareness has created a profitable niche. Entrepreneurs, influencers, and companies have jumped on the bandwagon, marketing apps, courses, books, worksheets, and “life hacks” tailored for neurodivergent individuals. Many of these offerings promise productivity, organization, and financial independence—buzzwords that resonate deeply with those struggling with executive dysfunction.
While some resources are developed by knowledgeable professionals with neurodivergent insights, many others are created without a true understanding of the challenges faced by the ADHD and autistic communities. Instead, these tools often exploit the vulnerabilities that stem from chronic frustration, internalized ableism, and the desire to “fix” oneself to meet neurotypical standards.
Why These Tools Often Fail
At the core of ADHD and autism lies executive dysfunction—a difficulty with planning, prioritizing, organizing, and following through on tasks. Tools designed without considering these realities frequently become part of the problem. Here’s why:
Overwhelm & Complexity: Many apps and worksheets require extensive setup, regular maintenance, or consistent engagement, which are precisely the skills most impacted by executive dysfunction.
Neurotypical Standards: These tools often assume a baseline of neurotypical functioning, ignoring the unique ways neurodivergent minds process information and manage energy.
Shame-Based Marketing: “If you just try harder, you can be productive!” This underlying message reinforces internalized ableism, leaving users feeling inadequate when the tools fail to work.
Financial Exploitation: Subscription fees for apps, overpriced courses, or constant upselling prey on the reality that many neurodivergent individuals struggle financially due to systemic barriers and inconsistent employment.
Emotional Depletion: Constantly trying and failing to use these tools can lead to heightened anxiety, depression, and burnout, compounding the very challenges they claim to address.
The False Promise of the Hustle Culture for Neurodivergent People
The attention economy intersects dangerously with hustle culture. Social media platforms are rife with neurodivergent-specific “side hustle” content, promoting gig work, passive income strategies, or “productivity hacks” as solutions to financial instability. However, these often ignore the time, energy, and executive functioning required to implement such plans, leaving many feeling like failures for not being able to capitalize on these “opportunities.”
Moreover, the pressure to monetize hobbies or create content on social media can drain the limited capacity neurodivergent individuals have for leisure and creativity, transforming activities meant for joy into sources of stress.
The Mental Health Cost
Engaging with these tools and promises often results in more harm than good. For many neurodivergent individuals, the cycle looks like this:
Hope: A tool is marketed as the “ultimate solution” to productivity or financial freedom.
Engagement: The individual invests time, energy, and money into adopting the tool.
Failure: The tool doesn’t align with their needs or abilities, leading to inconsistent use or abandonment.
Shame: The individual blames themselves for not succeeding, internalizing the failure as a personal shortcoming.
Depletion: Energy, money, and mental health are further eroded, leaving the person worse off than before.
This cycle perpetuates a harmful narrative: “If you can’t make this work, it’s your fault.” This message ignores the systemic barriers neurodivergent individuals face and reinforces ableist ideals that productivity equals worth.
How to Resist the Exploitation: (When you can, if you can; and if not, ask for help.)
Vet Resources Critically: Before investing in any tool, course, or app, ask these questions:
Was it created by someone with lived neurodivergent experience or expertise?
Does it account for executive dysfunction and other neurodivergent traits?
Is it affordable, or does it rely on predatory pricing models?
Use that PDA baby!: PDA, also called Pathological Demand Avoidance, AKA Persistent Demand for Autonomy, is a dynamic being explored in Autistic and ADHD communities. While it can arise on its own and prevent us from complying with requests that feel like demands from others, and even ourselves, it can also protect us from demands being made of us to “Buy this app!” “Sign up for this course!”.
Skills Before Tools: A tool isn’t going to help you if you don’t know how you function yet. Spend time learning about your own neurodivergence. What types of support work for you? Don’t expect to adapt yourself to a system just because it’s shiny and new.
Embrace Authentic Community: Seek support from neurodivergent-led groups and communities that prioritize empowerment over profit. Often, the best advice comes from those who truly understand the lived experience.
Challenge Internalized Ableism: Recognize that you are not broken or failing. Your value isn’t tied to productivity or conforming to neurotypical standards. Give yourself grace to work with, not against, your brain.
Advocate for Systemic Change: The burden of adapting shouldn’t fall solely on individuals. Push for greater accessibility in workplaces, schools, and healthcare systems to reduce the need for costly, stopgap solutions.
Promote Ethical Practices: Support creators, coaches, and businesses that prioritize transparency, affordability, and inclusivity when serving the neurodivergent community.
Conclusion: Building a Better Future for Neurodivergent Individuals
When a neurodivergent person gives you their whole attention, it’s like a gloriously warm light gently shining on you. Your focus, your time, your awareness is precious. It is valuable. It is yours before it is anyone else's; so protect it. The attention economy thrives on exploiting vulnerabilities, but awareness is the first step toward resistance. By critically examining the tools and narratives marketed to neurodivergent individuals, we can push back against exploitation and advocate for solutions that truly honor our needs and strengths. Let’s demand better—for ourselves, our communities, and future generations of neurodivergent minds.
It’s time to rewrite the narrative and reclaim our attention, finances, and wellbeing from an economy that doesn’t have our best interests at heart.
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