Defining neurodiversity for research and practice
Abstract
The concept of neurodiversity was proposed in the late 1990s by Judy Singer. Since then the meaning of the term has been hotly contested, but it is often associated with the accommodation of ‘natural variation’ in the human genome. Here I explore the various meanings of the term, and its usefulness for research. I suggest that it may be helpful to move on from associations with ‘natural’ variations, and moreover that the concept may be best thought of as having an epistemic utility for research.
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There is important variability in the perspectives of neurodiversity advocates.
“While there is important variability in the perspectives of neurodiversity advocates—as the neurodiversity movement is decentralized and continuously evolving through dialogue (Chapman, 2020; Singer, 2020)—there is a general consensus that the unique attributes associated with autism and other neurocognitive disabilities should not be distilled down to a set of symptoms and vulnerabilities in need”
From Neurodiversity and Autism Intervention: Reconciling Perspectives Through a Naturalistic Developmental Behavioral Intervention Framework (2022) · cites this paper as Chapman, 2020
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Sex and gender in neurodevelopmental conditions
Bölte, S., Neufeld, J., Marschik, P. B., Williams, Z. J., Gallagher, L., & Lai, M.-C. (2023) · Nature Reviews Neurology · doi:10.1038/s41582-023-00774-6 · Cited by 249 · see citing works
Schuck, R. K., Tagavi, D. M., Baiden, K. M. P., Dwyer, P., Williams, Z. J., Osuna, A., Ferguson, E. F., Jimenez Muñoz, M., Poyser, S. K., Johnson, J. F., et al. (2022) · Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders · doi:10.1007/s10803-021-05316-x · Cited by 208 · see citing works
“…in the perspectives of neurodiversity advocates—as the neurodiversity movement is decentralized and continuously evolving through dialogue (Chapman, 2020; Singer, 2020)—there is a general consensus that the unique attributes associated with autism and other neurocognitive disabilities…”
BackgroundPryke-Hobbes, A., Davies, J., Heasman, B., Livesey, A., Walker, A., Pellicano, E., & Remington, A. (2023) · PLoS ONE · doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0290001 · Cited by 95 · see citing works
Neurodiversity and remote work in times of crisis: lessons for HR
Szulc, J. M., McGregor, F.-L., & Cakir, E. (2023) · Personnel Review · doi:10.1108/pr-06-2021-0469 · Cited by 63 · see citing works
- Authors
- Chapman, R.
- Corresponding author
- Chapman, Robert
- Venue
- Neurodiversity Studies
- Publisher
- Routledge
- Published
- 2020-06-02
- Pages
- 218-220
- OpenAlex
- W3034044232
- Cited by
- 114
- References
- 0
- Citations by year
- 2026: 15 · 2025: 29 · 2024: 21 · 2023: 31 · 2022: 10 · 2021: 8
- FWCI
- 50.29
- Type
- book chapter
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Routledge eBooks (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Safety Research › Disability Rights and Representation
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Autism Spectrum Disorder Research
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Neuroethics, Human Enhancement, Biomedical Innovations
- Keywords
- neurodiversity, concept definition, natural variation, epistemic utility, neurodiversity acceptance
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