Does the heterogeneity of autism undermine the neurodiversity paradigm?

Abstract

| 47 wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/bioe 1 | Introduc tion 'Neurodiversity' has become a central concept in debates about the rights and interests of autistic people, and the corresponding obligations of parents and carers, practitioners, policy makers and researchers in health and social care, education, psychology and more. 1 The idea of a neurodiversity 'perspective' or 'paradigm' has been embraced by many autistic self-advocates and others who consider themselves to be their allies, and is promoted by self-advocacy organizations. It has, to differing degrees and in different ways, begun to influence more established autism charities and support groups, parents of autistic children, practitioners who work with autistic people, autism researchers, and politicians. Popular accounts such as Silberman's NeuroTribes 2 have brought the idea of neurodiversity to a wider audience and altered public perceptions of autism. The idea of neurodiversity has also been a subject of fierce controversy. Some parents of autistic children and parent-led organizations, as well as some autism researchers and some autistic people, have accused neurodiversity advocates of presenting a sanitized 1 Many neurodiversity advocates prefer 'autistic people' and cognate terms to 'people with autism' for reasons discussed in Section 6 below. 2 Silberman, S. (2015). NeuroTribes: The legacy of autism and how to think smarter about people who think differently. London, UK: Allen & Unwin.

Autistic Self-Advocacy and the Neurodiversity Movement: Implications for Autism Early Intervention Research and Practice

“…Some activists continue to argue that any attempt to alter an autistic person is misguided, thereby rejecting any form of early intervention (e.g., Stevenson, 2015). Some autistic people, parents or other stakeholders continue to oppose neurodiversity as a concept or social movement, arguing, for example, that it presents a sanitized view of autism, excludes those with significant language or intellectual disability, and deflects resources from those most in need of support (Happé and Frith, 2020;Hughes, 2020).…”

Reconciling the seemingly irreconcilable: The WHO's ICF system integrates biological and psychosocial environmental determinants of autism and ADHD

“…The neurodiversity paradigm has been criticized, specifically for trivializing or being overly positive towards disability, and for overgeneralization, that is, the assumption that it applies to all individuals living with NDDs, broadly and without exception. [45] While there have been several attempts to reconcile the biomedical and neurodiversity views, with the goal of generating a hybrid or consensus approach, [46][47][48] when distilled down to their essence they appear fundamentally incompatible and irreconcilable. [45,49]…”

Applying Constructivism in Neurodiverse Classrooms

“…One challenge that neurodiversity presents when being applied to autism is the fact that autism encompasses a wide range of learning disabilities that presents a multitude of different circumstances and challenges [18] . Further exploration is needed regarding how to address some of these learning challenges such as assisting in developing one's working memory in the classroom and beyond.…”