But it also distracts from a deeper philosophical problem that neurodiversity must confront as it expands into new territory. This debate quickly descends into unhelpful recriminations. Embracing neurodivergent thought too enthusiastically, they say, risks distracting from genuine physical, emotional or social needs that require attention.
Yet since the beginning, critics of neurodiversity have claimed that its mantra of radical acceptance could hinder treatments and interventions for those who are suffering. That’s a laudable goal and shouldn’t be tricky for anyone to wrap their head around. The main premise of the neurodiversity movement is that society should be robust enough to embrace and celebrate all people, no matter how their brains are ‘wired’.
But it also contains limitations, and these are becoming increasingly prominent as the concept expands into new domains. Neurodiversity has done brilliant work in breaking down social barriers, challenging stigmas, and raising awareness. It’s come to mean any real mental differences – neither choices nor simply illnesses – that aren’t problems to solve so much as enrichments for society. Since Singer’s first use of the term, neurodiversity has widened beyond autism to include people who identify with categories such as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), dyslexia, bipolar disorder, depression and more. The movement quickly gained support via online forums and new social networks. In reply, she offered up ‘neurodiversity’ in the spirit of biodiversity, in that it recognised and respected natural variance among humans. This denied the reality of neurological difference, according to Singer. This was partly a response to what Singer called the ‘social constructivist’ view of autism, where the condition was seen as having no solid biological basis. Inspired by other emancipatory social movements based on race and gender, Singer used her standing as an autistic person to rally together neurodivergent people. The sociologist Judy Singer coined the term ‘neurodiversity’ in the late 1990s. Those framed as ‘different’ have been given a remarkable new lens through which to reimagine that variance. Computer scientists and ‘techies’ wear the ‘neurodiverse’ label with pride businesses are building ‘neurodiverse’ workforces scriptwriters strive to represent and cast ‘neurodivergent’ people. The concept of ‘neurodiversity’ has gained enormous cultural influence in recent years.
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