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Neurodiversity

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Neurodiversity is an idea that asserts that atypical (neurodivergent) neurological wiring is a normal human difference that is to be tolerated and respected as any other human difference.[1] The concept of neurodiversity was created by some autistic individuals and people with related conditions, who believe that autism is not a disorder, but a part of who they are, and that curing autistic people would be the same as destroying their original personalities and replacing them with different people. This term is preferred by parents of autistic children over such names as "abnormal", "disabled", among others. Neurodiversity is the preferred term applied to autistics, similar to the way intellectual disability is applied to those who are mentally retarded. Some people apply the concept of neurodiversity to dyslexic, dyspraxic and hyperactive people.

Views on prejudice

The term neurodiversity is usually used as a statement against prejudice and bigotry towards autism and other neurological differences, which has been claimed to be the following by neurodiversity proponents:

  • Attempts to cure, medicate, institutionalize or force behavioral changes in autistics either against their will or without knowing their will.
  • References to the neuroanatomical differences of autistics as "abnormalities" or "damage".
  • Intolerant attitudes toward autistic behavior that may be perceived as odd or unusual.
  • Intolerance toward difficulties autistic people often have.
  • Discrimination against people for being autistic or because of autistic traits or behaviors.
  • Lack of accommodations for difficulties associated with autism.
  • Attitude that autistics are inferior to neurotypical people.
  • Belief that autism is a disease that needs to be cured or that there is something wrong with being autistic.
  • Institutions designed without consideration of autistics (for example: schools with heavy demand on social skills that may be hard for autistics).
  • Barriers to participation in society due to difficulties associated with autism that could have been accommodated (for example, a technically competent autistic person may lose a job because of social awkwardness or may never get past the interview stage).
  • Lack of protection for autistics in equal employment opportunity legislation.
  • Administration of drugs to children for minor conditions that won't affect their normal development such as ADHD.

Proponents

Most supporters of neurodiversity are anti-cure autistics, who are engaged in advocacy. In addition, some parents of autistic children also support neurodiversity and the view that autism is a unique way of being, rather than a disease to be cured. Such parents say they value their children's individuality and want to allow their children to develop naturally. For example, Morton Ann Gernsbacher is a parent of an autistic child and a psychology professor, who argues that autistics need acceptance, not a cure, and endorses the theory that autism cannot be separated from the person[2]. According to proponents, autistics may need therapies only to cure comorbid conditions, or to develop useful skills. Forcing autistics to act as desired, or trying get rid of autistic neurological wiring is condemned. The proponents think that if autistics face more difficulties in life, the source are the society's institutions and habits, not autism itself.

Dr. Thomas Armstrong, Ph.D., a prominent critic of ADHD as a disorder, has adopted and endorsed the term neurodiversity [1]. Autism researcher Simon Baron-Cohen, without using the term explicitly, has allowed for the possibility that high-functioning autism may lead to 'difference' rather than 'disability' [2].

The arguments for considering autism and other conditions a form of neurodiversity (as opposed to true disorders) are the following:

  • It has not been demonstrated that autistic behavior, in all or most cases, has a cause that is pathological in nature.
  • Autism is about as heritable as personality or IQ.
  • The genetic variations (or alleles) that account for the autism genotype have not been shown to be pathogenic, and in fact, some of the gene loci identified so far are prevalent in the general population. Even if a genetic variation is a rare mutation, that in itself does not imply pathology.
  • Some autistics report that they like being autistic, or that autism confers them with a special way of looking at the world, or a special talent, claiming that autism "is a beautiful thing." This is inconsistent with the way most pathologies are perceived by sufferers.
  • Autism is not life-threatening in general, as the life expectancy of autistics is about the same as that of neurotypicals.
  • The unexplained rapid increase in the prevalence of autism is a strong indication of the subjectivity involved in diagnosing autism as a disorder.

Opponents

Because autistic people usually have some challenges in life, there are some people who think finding a cure for autism would be in the best interest of autistics. These people believe a cure for autism is the best way to solve the problems of autistics, and see it as unfair and inappropriate to characterize the desire to cure autism as bigotry. [3] [4] [5]

At issue is whether autism, ADHD and so on are true disorders or better explained as neurodiversity. So far the term has not been addressed much in the scientific literature. No reference to the term appears in the Medline index.

Some parents of autistic children believe neurodiversity is an excuse not to treat autism and a coping mechanism for avoidance and denial[citation needed]. But others point out that pro-cure attitudes often stem from denial of any genetic contribution from the parents. Neurodiversity and autism acceptance (rather than denial) are generally thought to be related.

History of the term

The first citation of the term "neurodiversity" is generally held to have occurred in an academic essay by Judy Singer:

Singer, J (1999), "'Why can't you be normal for once in your life?: From a 'problem with no name' to the emergence of a new category of difference: The Autistic Spectrum" in Disability Discourse, Mairian Corker ed., Open University Press, February 1, 1999).

in which she wrote:

For me, the significance of the Autistic Spectrum lies in its call for and anticipation of a politics of neurological difference, or neurodiversity. The Neurologically Different represent a new addition to the familiar political categories of class / gender / race and will augment the insights of the Social Model of Disability. The rise of Neurodiversity takes postmodern fragmentation one step further. Just as the postmodern era sees every once too solid belief melt into air, even our most taken-for granted assumptions: that we all more or less see, feel, touch, hear, smell, and sort information, in more or less the same way, (unless visibly disabled) are being dissolved.

Singer first developed her ideas about neurodiversity in her Honours Thesis: Singer, J (1998) "Odd People In: The Birth of Community Amongst People on the Autistic Spectrum: A personal exploration of a New Social Movement based on Neurological Diversity" Faculty of Humanities and Social Science University of Technology, Sydney, 1998.

In this she began to map out a sociology for what she argued was a newly emergent category of disability, since the three established categories, physical/intellectual/and "psychiatric" not only did not explain new syndromes like "autistic spectrum disorders", they actually were a source of oppression for autistics. She argued that "neurological difference" should be added to sociological categories such as gender, class, ethnicity, and religion, as a tool for analysing oppression and inequality.

A print citation is given for the Coventry Evening Telegraph (UK) (Jan. 14th 2004 )with reference to the Coventry and Warwickshire Neurodiversity Group who define the term thus:

"Neurodiversity is a word that has been around since autistic people started putting sites on the internet. It has since been expanded to include not just people who are known as "autistics and cousins", but to express the idea that a diversity of ways of human thinking is a good thing, and dyslexic, autistic, ADHD, dyspraxic and tourettes people to name but a few all have some element in common not being neurotypical in the way our brains work." [6]

Whilst the term most appears to have originated within the online autistic community, its usage has spread outside to a more general meaning sometimes hotly disputed between its proponents as to whether it is inclusive of people with conditions like Cerebral Palsy, Parkinson's Disease, Multiple Sclerosis etc. Whilst others prefer to confine it to the invisible conditions such as those outlined by the Developmental Adult Neurodiversity Association in the UK. [7]

Certainly the term has been eagerly sought amongst top level domain name registrations, with neurodiversity.com and neurodiversity.info being examples, and there is no doubt that the term has seen a boost with the New York Times article by Amy Harmon.

Amy Harmon, "The Disability Movement Turns to Brains," The New York Times, May 9, 2004

See also

References

  1. ^ http://www.donnawilliams.net/ntswhenaword.0.html?&L=0
  2. ^ Gernsbacher, Morton Ann. "Autistics Need Acceptance, Not Cure". Autism Information Library. Autistics. Org. Saturday, April 24, 2004. http://www.autistics.org/library/acceptance.html URL accessed 2 February 2007.
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