What is Neuro-diversity, Anyway?

What is Neurodiversity, Anyway?

by Lisa Macafe

Just as the word queer encompasses a variety of identities under the LGBTQ+ umbrella, the word neurodiversity also encompasses spectrums of differences and society has seemingly deemed both groups inferior to the able-bodied, neurotypical, cisgender, heterosexual person, which causes people in marginalized identities challenges (Kafer, 2009; Legault et al., 2021). 

Neurodiversity consists of various natural divergences in neurological function such as autism, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), Tourette’s, or dyslexia, and was first coined by Judy Singer in the 1990s, who used the term to refer only to autistic people (Doyle & McDowall, 2022; Fung et al., 2022; Goldberg, 2023; Legault et al., 2021). Neurodivergent people are any whose neurology deviates from the typical cognitive profile normed by society.  Neurotypical people are those whose neurology matches the accepted norm (Fletcher-Watson, 2022; Legault et al., 2021). Neuro-minorities may be developmental, such as autism and ADHD, or acquired, such as depression or amnesia (Goldberg, 2023).

There are many characteristics in common between different neurodivergent identities including information processing similarities, similar experiences, and atypical responses to stimuli (Fletcher-Watson, 2022). Neurodiversity could apply to anyone whose brain function is atypical, about 20% of humanity, including people with schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and major depressive disorders, but consensus has not been reached on how broadly to apply the neurodivergent label and most people consider neurodiversity to refer to neurodevelopmental conditions and not mental health identities (Doyle & McDowall, 2022; Goldberg, 2023). 

Neurodiversity theory draws on the ideas of crip theory, created by Robert McRuer in the early 2000s, that was made to deconstruct ideas about disability and being disabled and focuses on how reality can be re-shaped and re-imagined to allow for other ways of being to exist. It avoids use of the word “normal” in favor of modalities allowing individuals to, not just survive, but flourish, while existing outside of assimilation and typicality (Kafer, 2009). Crip theory rejects ableism (Abrams & Abes, 2021). Ableism is a kind of compulsory able-mindedness and able-bodiedness valuing bodies and minds that are typical above the atypical, giving them space in the world (Kafer, 2009). Disability is, however, a naturally occurring variation in humans, and all people are normal – although not all people are typical (Abrams & Abes, 2021).

The neurodiversity paradigm states neurodevelopmental conditions such as autism are simple and natural biological differences similar to sexual orientation or skin color and are not in need of being changed (Goldberg, 2023; Legault et al., 2021; Lerner et al, 2023; Shields & Beversdorf, 2021). Biological diversity is naturally occurring and supports the overall health of the species.  Being atypical is not problematic for evolution, atypicality is a natural distribution of cognitive function across the species just like being very tall (Goldberg, 2023). Neuro-minorities fall within the normal distribution of human experience and are not abnormal (Doyle & McDowall, 2022; Fletcher-Watson, 2022). Neurodivergence in general is beneficial to society by increasing genetic variation, flexibility, and evolvability (Goldberg, 2023).

For people who are disabled and queer, assimilationist ideologies will never work to build authentic paradigms of power and privilege, because the individual will always be fundamentally different from what is expected as typical. Essentially, crip theory argues that while queer disabled people are constantly being displaced by society, the brightest possibilities come about in the refusal of displacement (Kafer, 2009). 

For many neurodivergent folks, sex, gender, and sexuality are performative acts based on the internalization of societal expectations and the individual’s situation.  Sexual orientation and gender identity also change over time and are not pre-determined (Verma et al., 2023). Queer theory resists normalizing and privileging certain identities over others and encourages society to resist policing other people’s expressions outside of the commonly accepted binary identities (Verma et al., 2023). Autistic people do not all fit conveniently into the gender binaries of male and female and some break down the heteronormative structures and pressure to conform, question assumptions about gender and sexuality, focus on the systems of power that divide, and support people who identify as transgender or non-binary (Carroll & Gilroy, 2001).

​Transgender people are often given more privilege and power in society if they perform a cisgender role, but this may feel inauthentic to their true self and prevent them having genuine relationships for fear of being “found out”.  Conversely, adopting a queer identity as a transgender person risks danger and abuse in the world; attaining a state of good mental health may be very difficult for some without the rejection of the binary and safe living situations (Jones, 2021). Queer and transgender people simply existing disrupt systems of power that contribute to others living artificially or stigmatizing roles due to fear and aid others in questioning their assumptions on gender and sexuality (Jones, 2021).

​Neurodiversity theory has been a political rallying cry to encourage individuals to think outside the neurotypical boxes society has construed as the only options and has encouraged people to create new ways of being that do not involve being stuck inside of binary socially prescribed attitudes and beliefs (Legault et al., 2021). It is important when individuals realize the neurotypical roles they have internalized become restrictive or harmful, they leave internalized ableist ideas behind to forge a future that affirms their neurodiversity (Schuck, 2023). Many autistic queer people critically evaluate schemas purported to be “normal” (such as gender roles) to identify harmful elements perpetuated in order to keep certain populations in power and others minoritized (Kokkos, 2022). ​

​Autism treatment in the past built on the medical model of disability wherein autism was viewed from a disorder framework as something that could be fixed.  Treatment was often geared towards the individual learning to mimic typical behaviors, often at great cost to self (Schuck, 2023). The neurodiversity movement diverged from the medical (deficit) model of disability, stating autistic people do not need to be typical or fixed to have worth and autistic people deserve to be accepted and included in society as they are (Butler, 2023; Goldberg, 2023). If society pressures individuals to conform to mainstream norms, is often harmful to the individual.

The neurodiversity paradigm builds on the social model of disability that says autistic people are disabled not by an inherent flaw within themselves, rather society is disabling to autistic people by not accommodating their needs (Enoka, 2022; Goldberg, 2023). Instead of asking how the autistic person can be made to fit into typical society, the neurodiversity movement asks how society can build affirming environments and embed supports so neurodivergent people can thrive and not just survive (Butler, 2023; Fung et al., 2022; Legault et al., 2021). ​

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The neurodiversity paradigm ascribes to recognizing the lived experiences and self-diagnosis of neurodivergent people as comparable to clinical experts’ thoughts on neurodiversity (Fletcher-Watson, 2022). Historically, voices of parents of autistic children and non-autistic researchers have been uplifted while voices of autistic people themselves have been silenced. Neurotribes laid foundations for a historical approach to neurodiversity by tracing the history of neurodiversity from the simultaneous first research on autistic children by Hans Asperger and Leo Kanner’s research in the 1940s, the refrigerator mother theory that cold mothers created autistic children in the 1950s, Ivar Lovaas creating ABA to train autistic children in the 1970s, and through to modern figures and discussions on neurodiversity today (Silberman, 2015). 

The neurodiversity movement seeks to improve societal support towards inclusion instead of correction (Goldberg, 2023). Neurodivergent people have been discriminated against for not being neurotypical, when they had no control over being born into the neuro-minority (Curnow et al., 2023; Fung et al., 2022; Goldberg, 2023; Legault et al., 2021). Continuing to address autism as solely an absence of neurotypical behavior neglects the strengths autistic people have and may de-focus accommodations that enable wellbeing (Fung et al., 2022; Shields & Beversdorf, 2021).

Support should be designed around non-judgmental identification and acceptance of unmet needs and neurodivergent-affirming accommodations to meet those needs, such as fidget toys, movement breaks, or noise cancelling headphones allowed during school or at work (Fletcher-Watson, 2022). Simple shifts in expectations can allow neuro-minorities to become valuable team members and live more meaningful lives (Doyle & McDowall, 2022).

There are controversies discussing the way autistic people should be supported (Schuck, 2023). Interventions for autistic people not taking autistic perspectives into account when designing goals have been found to be harmful to overall mental health (Butler, 2023; Enoka, 2022; Lerner et al, 2023). Some treatment outcomes for autistic children, especially from ABA, emphasize compliance with parent desires and suppression of autistic behaviors, such as stimming, to be replaced with neurotypical behaviors, such as eye contact (Curnow et al., 2023). If the goal of treatment is erasure of self, compliance, and normalization, problems in mental health will result (Legault et al., 2021).

The higher rates of anxiety and depression that autistic people experience fuel the neurodiversity movement’s push to change the services provided (Butler, 2023). The Autistic Self Advocacy Network (ASAN) adopted its slogan, ‘nothing about us, without us,’ to petition the public to allow autistic people a say in the services and policies affecting them (Enoka, 2022; Legault et al., 2021).

​Autism experts are autistic people.  Those purporting to be experts on autism who are neurotypical must collaborate with autistic people to get an informed perspective on their work (Enoka, 2022). For optimal ethical results, treatment goals should incorporate the perspective of the individual receiving treatment (Curnow et al., 2023; Lerner et al, 2023) and the autistic person should validate the treatment they are receiving and give feedback for future work.  Professionals in the autism field should assess their attitude towards neurodiversity (Schuck, 2023). Autistic adults’ input can be instrumental in designing future practices and determine if interventions may be more harmful than helpful (Curnow et al., 2023).
 
The neurodiversity movement advocates for rights and removing the pathologizing of autism and other diagnosis (Shields & Beversdorf, 2021). Neurotypical people both are the norm and create and enforce the norms autistic people are judged by (Legault et al., 2021). Some underappreciated traits common in autistic people are the tendency not to lie and to be highly ethical, tendency to work hard and be impassioned about their interests, sustaining long work hours related to their passions, having deep empathy, caring for the wellbeing of others (even those they do not know), and explaining their thoughts directly without euphemism or decoding needed (Enoka, 2022; Fung et al., 2022).

"Autism awareness" is a problematic term because autism is not a disease to be caught or cured, it is a neurodevelopmental condition that is a biological difference in the brain (Legault et al., 2021; Schuck, 2023). Jim Sinclair led the autism rights movement and pushed people to accept variation instead of trying to "cure" autistic children (Fung et al., 2022). To imply to parents that children can be ‘cured’ implies treatments can change the neurology of their brain, which is false, and implies autistic people are not good enough the way they are and need to be fixed, which is damaging (Schuck, 2023). 

Having a positive identity based on strengths and interests instead of a deficit mentality about the lack of neurotypicality can help neurodivergent people embrace their unique skills.  When autistic minds are allowed to flourish, it opens the world to the possibility of groundbreaking outside the box thinking from people such as past autistics like Alan Turning and Albert Einstein (Fung et al., 2022). 

To summarize, the neurodiversity movement pushes to have autism and other forms of neurodivergence such as ADHD, epilepsy, and learning disabilities de-pathologized and move from the medical model of disability that places the onus of change on the disabled individual, to the social model of disability where individuals are disabled by the society not providing access or accommodations so that they can live their most full and happy lives (Enoka, 2022). The neurodiversity framework seeks to normalize difference as natural and see difference as a strength that allows for innovation, not just as a deficit because they are not matching to typical norms and expectations (Legault et al., 2021). 

References

​Abrams, E. J., & Abes, E. S. (2021). "It's Finding Peace in My Body": Crip Theory to Understand Authenticity for a Queer, Disabled College Student. Journal of College Student Development, 62(3), 261-275. http://proxy1.calsouthern.edu/login?url=https://www-proquest-com.csu.idm.oclc.org/scholarly-journals/finding-peace-my-body-crip-theory-understand/docview/2547639324/se-2

​Butler, S. (2023). A Narrative Inquiry Into the Neurodivergent Identity (Order No. 30568592). Available from ProQuest One Academic. (2833872272). https://csu.idm.oclc.org/login?url=https://www-proquest-com.csu.idm.oclc.org/dissertations-theses/narrative-inquiry-into-neurodivergent-identity/docview/2833872272/se-2

Carroll, L., & Gilroy, P. J. (2001). Teaching “Outside the Box”: Incorporating Queer Theory in Counselor Education. Journal of Humanistic Counseling, Education & Development, 40(1), 49–58. https://doi-org.csu.idm.oclc.org/10.1002/j.2164-490X.2001.tb00101.x

​Carroll, S. (2019).  Respecting and empowering vulnerable populations: Contemporary terminology.  The Journal for Nurse Practitioners, 15(3), 228-231. https://doi-org.csu.idm.oclc.org/10.1016/j.nurpra.2018.12.031

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Jones, R. M., Wheelwright, S., Farrell, K., Martin, E., Green, R., Di Ceglie, D., & Baron-Cohen, S. (2012). Brief report: female-to-male transsexual people and autistic traits. Journal of autism and developmental disorders, 42(2), 301–306. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-011-1227-8 

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Kokkos, A. (2022). Transformation theory as a framework for understanding transformative learning.  Adult Education – Critical Issues (2)2, 20-33. Retrieved from https://www.researchgate.net/publication/366826194_Transformation_Theory_as_a_Framework_for_Understanding_Transformative_Learning on May 31st 2023.

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Shields, K., & Beversdorf, D. (2021). A dilemma for neurodiversity. Neuroethics, 14(2), 125–141. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12152-020-09431-x

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