Does “neurotypicality” necessarily exist and what does that mean for neurodivergence? Neurodivergence is used to describe everyone who is categorically distinct from a neurotypical standard. All autistic people are neurodivergent, but not all neurodivergent people are autistic – other neurodivergent people might have ADHD or Tourette’s syndrome, for example. Meanwhile, the term neurodiversity encompasses individual differences between all people. Neurodiversity, like biodiversity or ethnicity, doesn’t automatically imply that there is a norm from which all others diverge. Instead, we are all different and diverse. Taken this way, how can we use the concept of neurodiversity to encourage greater acceptance without undermining neurodivergent people’s need for support and understanding?
Autism: A New Introduction to Psychological Theory & Current Debate – Sue Fletcher-Watson & Francesca Happé
Ch 2: The History of Autism; pg 24
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