Neurodiversity
The neurodiversity paradigm is a framework for understanding human brain function that considers the diversity within sensory processing, motor abilities, social comfort, cognition, and focus as neurobiological differences. This diversity falls on a spectrum of neurocognitive differences. The neurodiversity movement views autism and other neurodivergences as a natural part of human neurological diversity—not diseases or disorders, just "difference".
Neurodivergences include autism, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, bipolar disorder, developmental prosopagnosia, developmental speech disorders, dyslexia, dysgraphia, dyspraxia, dyscalculia, dysnomia, intellectual disability, obsessive–compulsive disorder, schizophrenia, sensory processing disorder, synesthesia, and Tourette syndrome.
The neurodiversity movement started in the late 1980s and early 1990s with the start of Autism Network International. Much of the correspondence that led to the formation of the movement happened over autism conferences, namely the autistic-led Autreat, penpal lists, and Usenet. The framework grew out of the disability rights movement and builds on the social model of disability, arguing that disability partly arises from societal barriers and person-environment mismatch, rather than attributing disability purely to inherent deficits. It instead situates human cognitive variation in the context of biodiversity and the politics of minority groups. Some neurodiversity advocates and researchers, including Judy Singer and Patrick Dwyer, argue that the neurodiversity paradigm is the middle ground between a strong medical model and a strong social model.
Neurodivergent individuals face unique challenges in education, in their social lives, and in the workplace. The efficacy of accessibility and support programs in career development and higher education differs from individual to individual. Social media has introduced a platform where neurodiversity awareness and support has emerged, further promoting the neurodiversity movement.
The neurodiversity paradigm has been controversial among disability advocates, especially proponents of the medical model of autism, with opponents arguing it risks downplaying the challenges associated with some disabilities, and that it calls for the acceptance of things some wish to be treated for. In recent years, to address these concerns, some neurodiversity advocates and researchers have attempted to reconcile what they consider different seemingly contradictory but arguably partially compatible perspectives. Some researchers, such as Patrick Dwyer, Ari Ne'eman and Sven Bölte, have advocated for mixed, integrative or combined approaches that involve both neurodiversity approaches and biomedical approaches, for example teaching functional communication and treating self-injurious behaviors or co-occurring conditions like epilepsy and depression with biomedical approaches.
History and developments
The word neurodiversity first appeared in publication in 1998, in an article by American journalist Harvey Blume, as a portmanteau of the words neurological diversity, which had been used as early as 1996 in online spaces such as InLv to describe the growing concept of a natural diversity in humanity's neurological expression. The same year, it was published in Judy Singer's sociology honors thesis, drawing on discussions on the independent living mailing list that included Blume. Singer has described herself as "likely somewhere on the autistic spectrum".Blume was an early advocate who predicted the role the Internet would play in fostering the international neurodiversity movement. In a New York Times piece on June 30, 1997, Blume described the foundation of neurodiversity using the term neurological pluralism. Some authors also credit the earlier work of autistic advocate Jim Sinclair in laying the foundation for the movement. Sinclair's 1993 speech "Don't Mourn For Us" emphasized autism as a way of being, claiming "it is not possible to separate the person from the autism."
The neurodiversity movement grew largely from online interaction. The internet's design lent well to the needs of many autistic people. People socialized over listservs and IRCs. Some of the websites used for organizing in the neurodiversity movement's early days include sites like Autistics.Org and Autistic People Against Neuroleptic Abuse. Core principles were developed from there. Principles such as advocating for the rights and autonomy of all people with brain disabilities with a focus on autism. The main conflicts from the beginning were about who the real experts on autism are, what causes autism, what interventions are appropriate, and who gets to call themselves autistic. During the 2000s, people started blogs such as Mel Baggs' Ballastexistenz and Kevin Leitch's Left Brain Right Brain. Eventually, Autistic Self Advocacy Network was started by Ari Ne'eman and Scott Robertson to further align the neurodiversity movement with the greater disability rights movement. ASAN led the Ransom Notes Campaign to successfully remove stigmatizing disability ads posted by the NYU Child Study Center. This was a massive turning point for the neurodiversity movement.
From there, the neurodiversity movement continued to grow with the formation of more organizations in the early 2010s such as Autistic Women & Nonbinary Network and The Thinking Person's Guide to Autism. More autistic people were appointed to federal advisory boards like Interagency Autism Coordinating Committee and National Council on Disability. There were various campaigns like the ongoing #StopTheShock related to the use of aversive treatment at Judge Rotenberg Center and various protests against Autism Speaks. Various flashblogs popped up during the 2010s to support campaigns. Annual traditions were formed such as Disability Day of Mourning and Autistics Speaking Day.
Damian Milton notes that, in 2014, Nick Walker attempted to define neurodiversity, the neurodiversity movement, and the neurodiversity paradigm. Walker tied neurodiversity to the idea that "all brains are to a degree unique". She also defined the movement as a rights movement, and the paradigm as a broader discussion of diversity, cultural constructions and social dynamics.
An important question is which neurodivergences traditionally viewed as disorders should be depathologized and exempt from attempts to remove them. Autistic advocate Nick Walker suggested preserving "forms of innate or largely innate neurodivergence, like autism" while conditions like epilepsy or traumatic brain injury could be removed from the person without fundamentally changing the person because these are not pervasively linked to the individual's personality or perception of the world.
Scientific debates, research findings, and neurodiversity-based reforms
In recent years, the concept of neurodiversity and many related findings that challenged traditional knowledge and practices in the autism field have gained traction among many members of the scientific and professional communities, who have argued that autism researchers and practitioners have sometimes been too ready to interpret differences as deficits and such deficit-oriented and neuronormative approaches may cause harm. It has also been suggested that there are both ethical issues and practical risks in attempting to reduce or suppress some autistic traits that can sometimes be adaptive or instilling neurotypical social behaviors through interventions. Researchers and advocates are concerned about such issues and risks as most recent studies and multiple systematic reviews have indicated that higher levels of masking, passing as neurotypical, or camouflaging are generally associated with poorer mental health outcomes including depression, clinical anxiety, and suicidality among autistic people and across various regions or cultures. In addition, three reviews published in 2024 and 2025 indicated some forms of repetitive behaviors can be adaptive for sensory regulation and emotional regulation of some autistic people, and masking or suppressing some autistic repetitive behaviors that can be adaptive may risk worsening mental health and well-being. One multiple-year longitudinal study found that autistic children who showed decrease in repetitive behaviors experienced more severe and worsening in mental health symptoms, whereas autistic children who showed increase in repetitive behaviors experienced less severe mental health challenges. Relatedly, qualitative studies have shown some forms of applied behavioral interventions increase camouflaging or masking of autistic traits for some autistic people, with negative effects on mental health. In addition, quantitative evidence regarding adverse effects of some applied behavioral interventions is emerging, and appears widespread. Apart from studies on adverse effects of early behavioral interventions, multiple dozens of qualitative studies, including studies systematically reviewed by Brede et al. have shown negative experiences accessing and receiving mental health services are common and reported by most autistic participants.| Disordered | Intrinsic disability | Intrinsic impairment | Social determinism | Superpower | |
| autism is a disorder | disability is intrinsic to an individual | impairment is intrinsic to an individual | disability is an impairment unaccommodated by society | autism is largely positive, with little negative implications | |
| Social model | abstains | disagrees | agrees | agrees | disagrees |
| Neurodiversity movement | disagrees | varying views | agrees | agrees | varying views |
| Medical pathology paradigm | agrees | agrees | agrees | disagrees | disagrees |
Moreover, researchers have found that psychoeducation based on the medical model is associated with higher stigma. Another study found that endorsements of normalization and curative goals are associated with heightened stigma. Similarly, some researchers and advocates also argue that a medicalizing approach can contribute to stigma and ableism, and that the persistent focus on biological research in autism based on deficit-based medical model is at odds with the priorities of those in the autism community.
The neurodiversity paradigm is controversial in autism advocacy. A prevalent criticism is that autistic people with higher support needs would continue to have challenges even if society was fully accommodating and accepting of them. Some critics of the neurodiversity paradigm, such as family members that are responsible for the care of such an autistic individual, think it might lead to overlooking or downplaying these challenges. In response, it has been stated that neurodiversity does not deny disability and support needs and that not having certain abilities or needing support is not intrinsically a bad thing, because notions of normal functioning are culturally and economically relative and historically contingent and there are cultures in which questions like "Will my child ever be able to live independently?" or "Who will care for my child after I die?" do not arise because support is provided by other members of the community as a matter of course.
| Participatory interventions | Integrationary interventions | Environmental modifications | Participatory research | |
| interventions should prioritize outcomes deemed important by the autistic person | interventions should give autistic people the skills to appear closer to a species-norm | an autistic person's environment should be modified to better suit them | every stage of autism studies should involve autistic input | |
| Social model | agrees | disagrees | agrees | agrees |
| Neurodiversity movement | agrees | varying views | agrees | agrees |
| Medical pathology paradigm | disagrees | agrees |
Some scholars have noted points of contact between the neurodiversity movement and evolutionary psychiatry and evolutionary psychology. A 2024 perspective in Autism Research argued that evolutionary psychiatry can, in some contexts, support neurodiversity's goals by framing certain neurocognitive traits as part of human variation while remaining agnostic about clinical management or rights‑based advocacy. Related commentaries in psychiatric journals have encouraged careful evaluation of evolutionary accounts of autism alongside neurodiversity perspectives.
Autistic self-advocate and researcher Ari Ne'eman has suggested a trait-based approach, where elements of the medical model can be applied in treating certain traits, behaviors, or conditions that are intrinsically harmful, while neurodiversity approaches can be applied to non-harmful or sometimes adaptive autistic traits of the same individual. Relatedly, some neurodiversity researchers, as well as autistic people, advocates and researchers, have advocated for application and sometimes integration or combination of both neurodiversity approaches and biomedical research plus practice.
In recent years, researchers, providers of various support services, and neurodivergent people have advocated for more neurodiversity-affirming support services/therapies, with both new therapy strategies being developed and advancements or reforms of existing therapy strategies informed by experiences, strengths, interests, preferences, and feedback of autistic people as well as neurodiversity approaches and findings, with some evidence for beneficial effects. In addition, some researchers and advocates have called for more neurodiversity-affirming and lived-experience informed psychoeducation and stigma reduction methods.