What is Neurodiversity?

In the late 1990s, Judy Singer, a sociologist, who is on the autism spectrum herself, came up with a word to describe conditions like ADHD, Autism, and Dyslexia, this word was “neurodiversity”. Her hope and objective were to shift the focus of discourse about ways of thinking and learning away from the usual litany of deficits, disorders, and impairments.

The term neurodiversity refers to variation in the human brain regarding sociability, learning, attention, mood, and other mental functions. It was coined in 1998 by Australian sociologist Judy Singer, who helped popularize the concept along with American journalist Harvey Blume. It emerged as a challenge to prevailing views that certain neurodevelopmental disorders are inherently pathological and instead adopt the social model of disability, in which societal barriers are the main contributing factor that disables people.

Neurodiversity supporters point out that neurodiverse people often have remarkable capabilities alongside their weaknesses.

Neurodiversity is a concept where neurological differences are to be recognized and respected as any other human variation. These differences can include those labeled with Dyspraxia, Dyslexia, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, Dyscalculia, Autistic Spectrum, Tourette Syndrome, and others.

For many autistic people, neurodiversity is viewed is a concept and social movement that advocates for viewing autism as a variation of human wiring, rather than a disease. As such, neurodiversity activists reject the idea that autism should be cured, advocating instead for celebrating autistic forms of communication and self-expression, and for promoting support systems that allow autistic people to live as autistic people.

Neurodiversity is a combination of traits that are both strengths and challenges. Depending on the neurodiverse condition and its severity, individuals can display strengths in different areas, including:

• AUTISM

  – is a developmental disorder by difficulties with social interaction and communication, and by restricted and repetitive behavior.

• DYSLEXIA

  – also known as reading disorder, is characterized by trouble with reading despite normal intelligence.

• ADHD (ATTENTION DEFICIT HYPERACTIVITY DISORDER)

  – is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by inattention, or excessive activity and impulsivity, which are otherwise not appropriate for a person’s age.

• DYSPRAXIA

  – Developmental coordination disorder (DCD), also known as dyspraxia, is a condition affecting physical coordination. It causes a child to perform less well than expected in daily activities for their age and appear to move clumsily.

• DYSCALCULIA

  – is a disability resulting in difficulty learning or comprehending arithmetic, such as difficulty in understanding numbers, learning how to manipulate numbers, performing mathematical calculations, and learning facts in mathematics. It is sometimes informally known as “math dyslexia”, though this can be misleading as it is a different condition.

• DYSGRAPHIA

  – is a deficiency in the ability to write, primarily handwriting, but also coherence. Dysgraphia is a transcription disability, meaning that it is a writing disorder associated with impaired handwriting, orthographic coding, and finger sequencing (the movement of muscles required to write). It often overlaps with other learning disabilities such as speech impairment, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, or developmental coordination disorder.

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