David Cycleback

A Concise Guide to
Neurodiversity
DAVID CYCLEBACK

A CONCISE GUIDE TO
NEURODIVERSITY

2
A Concise Guide to Neurodiversity
1st edition
© 2021 David Cycleback & bookboon.com
ISBN 978-87-403-3680-1
Peer review by Catarina Amorim DPhil (medical sciences), University of Oxford

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A CONCISE GUIDE TO NEURODIVERSITY Contents

CONTENTS
About the author 5

1 Introduction 6

2 What is Neurodiversity? 7
2.1 What is normal? 7
2.2 All ways of thinking have positives and negatives, skills and deficits 8
2.3 Neurodiversity beyond human brains 15
2.4 Further reading and videos 16
2.5 References 16

3 The Human As Social Animal 21

3.1 Further reading 23
3.2 Discussion questions 23
3.3 References 24

4 Cultural Differences As Neurodiversity 25

4.1 An Example of How Environment Affects Visual Perception 26
4.3 Questions 27
4.4 References 28

5 Pathology 29
5.1 Some of Today’s Disorders Were Not Always Considered Disorders 30
5.2 Further reading 32
5.3 References 32

6 The Neurodiversity Movement 34

6.1 Controversies And Debates 35
6.2 Neurodiversity in schools 37
6.3 Neurodiversity in the workplace 38
6.4 Further reading and resources 40
6.5 Questions 41
6.6 References 41

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A CONCISE GUIDE TO NEURODIVERSITY About the author

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Dr. Maskil David Cycleback is Director of Center for Artifact Studies, and a scholar in
cognitive science, philosophy and artifact studies. He is the author of numerous textbooks,
including Understanding Human Minds and Their Limits, Cognitive Science of Religion and
Belief Systems, Nature and Limits of Human Knowledge, and Philosophy of Artificial Intelligence.

Peer Reviewer
Dr. Catarina Amorim is a medical scientist and science communicator at the University of
Oxford.

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A CONCISE GUIDE TO NEURODIVERSITY Introduction

1 INTRODUCTION
This short text is a concise overview of neurodiversity, a neurological concept important
to understanding human beings and societies. The concept is relatively new, with much
debate, fluidity, controversy and objectively unanswerable questions. Included throughout
the text are links to further reading, videos and research, along with discussion questions.
Debate and different perspectives from readers are encouraged.

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A CONCISE GUIDE TO NEURODIVERSITY What is Neurodiversity?

2 WHAT IS NEURODIVERSITY?
Neurodiversity is the diversity of ways human brains function. Short for neurological
diversity, the term was coined by Australian social scientist and autism advocate Judy Singer.
(Spectrum Suite 2018)

Neurodiversity is comparable to biodiversity where diversity of skin and hair colors, body
types, physical abilities and genders is natural. Just as one should expect and appreciate
diversity in biology, one should expect and appreciate diversity in brain functioning.

Likely no two brains function exactly alike. Even within the parameters of what is considered
normal there is great diversity.

Two terms you will often hear in this area are neurodivergent and neurotypical. Someone
whose brain functions unusually is called neurodivergent. Someone whose brain functioning
falls within the social standards of what is normal is called neurotypical.

2.1 WHAT IS NORMAL?

In biology, there is no objective definition of intelligence. In Artificial Intelligence (AI),
there is a diversity of definitions of intelligence or artificial intelligence, none objective and
the definitions often change. In art and art theory, there is no objective or single definition
of art, and art itself is a made-up human concept. The common phrase is ‘Art is in the eye
of the beholder.’

Trying to define or pinpoint “normal” poses similar challenges.

What is considered normal is relative to the particular time, place, society and situation,
and “considered” is no objective or scientific definer. What is considered normal in your
culture may be different from what is not considered normal in another culture. What is
typical today may have been atypical one hundred years ago. One only has to travel to
different parts of the world to discover that there are different normals, different rules and
customs, different appropriate and inappropriate ways to dress, act, eat and socially interact.

Even if definable, normal only means normal. It does not mean best or correct. Cultures
have believed the earth was flat and the earth was the center of the universe. Humans can
only have perspectives on reality and the physical world, each subjective and incomplete.

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A CONCISE GUIDE TO NEURODIVERSITY What is Neurodiversity?

Further, every human is unique and multi-faceted, with biological and neurological aspects
that fall in and outside of the standards of typical. An “otherwise normal” person (if that
could be defined) may be unusually tall or have a rare eye color or violin-playing abilities.
As no two people are exactly alike, defining what is the normal person and what are the
exact parameters of normalcy are objectively impossible. In fact, people being different in
ways from each other is normal.

“There is no such standard for the human brain. Search

as you might, there is no brain that has been pickled in
a jar in the basement of the Smithsonian Museum or the
National Institute of Health or elsewhere in the world that
represents the standard to which all other human brains
must be compared. Given that this is the case, how do
we decide whether any individual human brain or mind is
abnormal or normal?”

– Thomas Armstrong Ph.D., Director of American Institute

for Learning and Human Development (Armstrong 2015)

Psychology professor Nick Walker argues that there is no one normal.

“The idea that there is one ‘normal’ or ‘healthy’ type of brain

or mind, or one ‘right’ style of neurocognitive functioning, is
a culturally constructed fiction, no more valid (and no more
conducive to a healthy society or to the overall well-being
of humanity) than the idea that there is one “normal” or
“right” ethnicity, gender, or culture.”

– Dr. Nick Walker, California Institute of Integral Studies

(Walker 2014)

This text uses normal as a useful but vague word. Different people define and consider it
differently. Some in the neurodiversity movement prefer the term not be used at all.

2.2 ALL WAYS OF THINKING HAVE POSITIVES

AND NEGATIVES, SKILLS AND DEFICITS
Societies have traditionally considered their normal way of brain functioning to be the
correct and best way to perceive and know the world. They have tended to marginalize and
even persecute those who think differently. However, all forms of thinking, including ways
accepted by society and tradition, have trade-offs, positive and negative aspects. What are
pathologized as mental disorders involve both functional deficits and positive skills.

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A CONCISE GUIDE TO NEURODIVERSITY What is Neurodiversity?

Many famous artists, academics and thinkers had mental disorders that both socially and
functionally hindered them but were essential to their original ways of thinking and work.
Van Gogh’s disorders were both a source of his art and caused him to be hospitalized, led to
him being a social outcast and ultimately committing suicide. Caragavio’s violent, antisocial
ways cannot be separated from his visceral and often violent religious paintings. Picasso’s
dyslexia made reading difficult but contributed to his revolutionary artistic vision. What are
good and bad qualities, positive and negative aspects, is subjective and situational. Behavior
that is acceptable or beneficial in one situation or way is not in another. (Nierenberg in
Teton Gravity Research 2018) (Anthes 2013) (Stanford Medicine 2013) (Haass-Koffler &
Kenna 2013) (Dyslexiahelp.og 2018)

Autism, or autism spectrum disorder, is a range of neurological disorders that has many
functional disabilities that range in intensity. Symptoms include difficulties in communication
and understanding language, learning disabilities, lack of understanding of social cues and
empathy, social withdrawal, repetitive movements, inappropriate social actions and self-
abuse. (Stoppler 2018)

However, the autistic sometimes have great skills, including at mathematics, memory, focus
and pattern recognition. The great physicists and mathematicians Paul Dirac and Issac
Newton are believed to have been autistic. University of Cambridge psychology professor
and Director of the Autism Research Centre Simon Baron-Cohen fears that a prenatal test
for autism could deprive the world of geniuses such as Dirac and Newton (Washington
2016) (Baron-Cohen 2009) (Altogether 2015) (Happe 2018).

When the high functioning autistic’s needs are accommodated, tech businesses have discovered
that the autistic can have unusual skills, such as at processing data and pattern recognition
and focus. (Auticon 2018) (Alston 2018) (Alsop 2016)

“Recent data and my own personal experience suggest it’s

time to start thinking of autism as an advantage in some
spheres, not a cross to bear,”

– Dr. Laurent Mottron, psychiatry professor at the

University of Montreal (Mottron in Waknine 2011)

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A CONCISE GUIDE TO NEURODIVERSITY What is Neurodiversity?

Figure 1. “According to the standard criteria there does not seem much
doubt that Isaac Newton (pictured), Henry Cavendish and Albert Einstein were
Asperger people; in fact, Newton appears to be the earliest known example
of a person with any form of autism.”- -Ioan James, Oxford University Chair of
Geometry. (James 2003)

Dyslexia is a learning disorder that affects areas of the brain that process language. Symptoms
include difficulty in reading, poor spelling, mispronouncing words, difficulty in memorizing
and doing math. However, dyslexia involves unusual abilities. These include creativity,
big picture or holistic thinking, high reasoning skills and understanding complexity, and
independent thinking. (Nessy 2011)

“It’s as if people with dyslexia tend to use a wide-angle lens

to take in the world, while others tend to use a telephoto,
each is best at revealing different kinds of detail.”

– Matthew H. Schneps, Harvard University (Schepps in

Nessy 2011)

Known for their creative, original thinking, Agatha Christie, Leonardo da Vinci, Walt Disney,
Richard Branson, Albert Einstein and Thomas Edison are believed to have been dyslexic.
Leonardo da Vinci was a horrible speller and Einstein was slow to speak as a child, both
common signs of dyslexia. (Clark 2020)

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A CONCISE GUIDE TO NEURODIVERSITY What is Neurodiversity?

“I recognized that I had dyslexia and then I realized I had

this gift for imaging. I live in a world of patterns and images,
and I see things that no one else sees. Because of dyslexia,
I can see these patterns . . . You can’t overcome it; you can
work around it and make it work for you, but it never goes
away. That’s probably a good thing, because if dyslexia went
away, then the other gifts would go away too.”

– Beryl Benecarraf MD, Harvard Medical School

(Benacerraf in Nessy 2011)

“It is time we lost the stigma around dyslexia. It is not a

disadvantage; it is merely a different way of thinking. Once
freed from archaic schooling practices and preconceptions, my
mind opened up. Out in the real world, my dyslexia became
my massive advantage: it helped me to think creatively and
laterally, and see solutions where others saw problems.”

– Richard Branson (Branson 2019)

Schizophrenia is a complex, severe disorder that is far from fully understood. Symptoms
include emotional blunting, social problems, difficulty “reading” people, cognitive problems
and deterioration, disorganized speech and behavior, language and self-awareness problems,
a disconnect with standard perceptions of reality, and visual and auditory hallucinations.
Schizophrenics often hallucinate commanding voices, voices that instruct them what to do.
(Mayo Clinic 2019) (Webmd 2020)

However, schizophrenia can present together with creativity and original thinking. Famous
artists believed to have been schizophrenic include Vaslav Nijinki, Clara Bow, Camille
Claudel, Buddy Bolden, Syd Barret, Jack Kerouac, Brian Wilson and Veronica Lake. (Webmd
2020) (Ranker 2020)

The Nobel Prize-winning mathematician John Nash’s paranoid schizophrenia caused him
great social and functioning troubles, including his dropping out of society, hallucinations,
delusions and involuntary hospitalizations. However, he said when the bad effects and
delusions were under control, his unique way of thinking contributed to his mathematical
discoveries. (Nutt 2015)

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A CONCISE GUIDE TO NEURODIVERSITY What is Neurodiversity?

Figure 2. Considered a key developer of what is now called jazz, New Orleans
trumpeter Buddy Bolden (1877-1932) developed a loud, improvisational form
of New Orleans ragtime music first called “jass.” He was diagnosed as
schizophrenic and committed to the Louisiana State Insane Asylum at the age
of 30, where he spent the rest of his life. (Nola 2019)

According to Oxford University psychiatrist Neel Burton, as schizophrenia is genetic it

is related to having healthy relatives who are creative, different thinkers. Albert Einstein,
Bertrand Russell and James Joyce had schizophrenic children. Burton wrote that research
has shown that “healthy siblings of people with schizophrenia are overrepresented in creative
professions.” (Burton 2017) (Kyaga et al 2018)

Bipolar disorder is a serious emotional disorder that at its extremes involves psychoses,
delusions and hallucinations. However, it is also associated with high intelligence and
creativity. A University of Lancaster study showed that bipolar participants “described a
wide range of internal states that they believe are experienced at a far greater intensity than
those without the condition, including increased perceptual sensitivity, creativity, focus and
clarity of thought.” (Greenwood 2016) (Thomson 2015) (Lancaster University 2012)

Artists who are believed to have been bipolar include Vivien Leigh, Beethoven, Virginia
Woolf, Kurt Cobain, Anne Sexton and Edvard Munch. Munch said, “I can not get rid of
my illnesses, for there is a lot in my art that exists only because of them. Others who many
believe were bipolar include Winston Churchill, Teddy Roosevelt and Florence Nightingale
(Ferreira 2012) (WebMd 2019) (Sheerin 219) (University of Maryland Medical Center 2003)

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A CONCISE GUIDE TO NEURODIVERSITY What is Neurodiversity?

Composer Robert Schumann is believed to have been bipolar. He was known for his unpredictable
and erratic work and extreme mood swings, and spent his last years institutionalized. Marin
Alsop, director of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, says his mental disorder was integral
to his art. (Holm-Hadulla & Koutsoukou-Argyraki 2017) (Smith T 2011)

“Typically for Schumann, when he was in a manic state he

would compose feverishly, but when he fell into a depressive
state, he was virtually paralyzed. It makes me wonder: What
if Schumann had Prozac or lithium? Would his creativity
have been helped or hampered by these modern, so-called
wonder drugs? . . . . Would his autobiographical Second
Symphony tell a different story? As it stands, I hear the music
pulsing with Schumann’s journey from abject depression to
triumph and joy.”

– Marin Alsop (Alsop 2008)

Figure 3. “It’s a very strong argument that Van Gogh had bipolar disorder. He was able to see
things in such an extraordinary way and depict things in ways that were never done before. But
he was also hospitalized repeatedly for either mania or depression. And there are many people
who in many ways think it is a gift because they can see things differently than many other
people can.”-- Andrew Nierenberg MD, Professor of Psychiatry at Harvard University and
Director of the Dauten Family Center for Bipolar Treatment Innovation (Nierenberg in Teton
Gravity Research 2018)

Mystical experiences are temporary neurological events where the functioning of the brain’s
normal cognitive structures are suppressed and the brain processes sensory information
using the emotional parts of the brain. During mystical experiences, people experience
and perceive the world and themselves in radically different ways and often feel they gain
profound intuitive knowledge about reality and the physical world. (Pecorino 2001)

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BOOK TITLE What is Neurodiversity?

University of Pennsylvania medical professor Andrew Newberg MD said that many of our
“Aha!” epiphany moments are mini mystical experiences or changes in the brain’s perception
where we see things from a new perspective. Physics Nobel Prize winner Charles Townes
said that many of his scientific ideas, including that led to the invention of the laser and
maser, came to him in such spiritual-like epiphanies. (Dimitropoulos 2017) (Berkeley 2016)

Artists Vladimir Nabakov, Franz Liszt, Duke Ellington, Charles Baudelaire, Wassily Kandinsky
and Arther Rimbaud appear to have experienced synesthesia. Synesthesia is a curious
condition where one’s sense is simultaneously perceived by another, often multiple, senses.
For example, a person with synesthesia may experience sounds or letters or numbers each
with a color, smell or flavor. (Ramachandran and Hubbard 2003) (English 2019) (Elise 2016)

“A growing body of evidence shows synesthesia is more

common among creative types and that some of the most
imaginative minds — Hockney, Kandinsky, Nabokov — were
indeed synesthetic. According to those who study the
condition, cross-sensory experiences may offer a particular
artistic advantage: a greater aesthetic sensitivity than the
rest of us, and thus a greater likelihood to gravitate toward
artistic fields.”

– art journalist Jacoba Urist (Urist 2016)

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A CONCISE GUIDE TO NEURODIVERSITY What is Neurodiversity?

Many people have multiple disorders and to different degrees, such as having schizophrenia
and bipolar disorder or having ADHD and anxiety disorder, and an individual’s thinking and
personality are made up of a variety of aspects and influences. A saying about the autistic
is, “If you’ve met one autistic person, you’ve met one autistic person.” (Loughran 2020).

2.3 NEURODIVERSITY BEYOND HUMAN BRAINS

When thinking about brains and function, one can contemplate neurodiversity that goes
beyond human brains. Non-human animals and artificial brains (computers, artificial
intelligence) function differently than human brains, processing different ranges of sensory
information, and they are more effective than humans at many tasks.

Non-human animals can be mentally capable in ways humans are not. Bats use echolocation
to map out space. Spiders hunt by making elaborate webs. Humans use bloodhounds and
their highly advanced sense of smell to locate things humans cannot. Termites use swarm
intelligence to create advanced homes, pointing out that a mind does not have to be a
single entity. (Margonelli 2014)

“For millennia, all kinds of authorities – from religion to

eminent scholars – have been repeating the same idea ad
nauseam, that humans are exceptional by virtue that they
are the smartest in the animal kingdom. However, science
tells us that animals can have cognitive faculties that are
superior to human beings.”

– Dr. Arthur Saniotis, University Adelaide School of

Medicine (Saniotis in University of Adelaide 2013)

Computers’ symbolic methods, deep learning and Bayesian networks may be very loosely
and primitively based on how in part humans process information. However, that’s not how
humans think. Humans thinking and intelligence use mental methods that computers do
not: emotions, sentience and consciousness. When performing apparently human mental
or physical tasks, such as dialoguing with a human or making artwork or playing a board
game, AI is necessarily doing it differently than a human. Wrote software engineer Ben
Dickson, “It’s wrong to compare artificial intelligence to the human mind, because they are
totally different things, even if their functions overlap at times.” (Dickson 2018).

Humans use computers, medicine, technology and non-human animals to enhance their
knowledge and abilities and make up for their own deficits. (Hays 2018)

Thinking about all this demonstrates that there is no one correct or right way of thinking,
and multiple ways of thinking, often combined, are important.

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A CONCISE GUIDE TO NEURODIVERSITY What is Neurodiversity?

2.4 FURTHER READING AND VIDEOS

Video: Bipolar link to creativity and being intellectually gifted?
youtube.com/watch?v=Vp9afmFFBjU

Video: The gift of dyslexia. University of Oxford physiology professor John Stein talks about
the talents bestowed upon individuals with dyslexia.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m0Okr9HdMVk

5 Synesthesia Artists Who Paint Their Multi-Sensory Experiences

www.mymodernmet.com/synesthesia-art/

Guide to a variety of disorders

https://dyspraxiafoundation.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/P16-A_Guide_to_SpLD_
copy_2.pdf

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Armstrong, T. (2015). The myth of the normal brain: Embracing neurodiversity. Journal of
Ethics, 17(4), 348–352.

auticon (2018), “Understanding the cognitive benefits of autism in the technology field”,
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Alson M (2008), “Robert Schumann: Music Amid The Madness”. npr.org/2008/06/20/91707206/

robert-schumann-music-amid-the-madness

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A CONCISE GUIDE TO NEURODIVERSITY What is Neurodiversity?

Baron-Cohen S (2009) “Autist test could hit math skills’, news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/7736196.stm

Berkeley.edu (2016), “A new bench is dedicated in honor of Charles Townes”, physics.

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Branson R (2019), “Dyslexia is merely another way of thinking”, thetimes.co.uk/article/

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Clark C (2020), “Famous Dyslexics who have Impacted the World,” commlearn.com/
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Dickson B (2018), ‘There’s a huge difference between AI and human intelligence—so let’s stop
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Dimitropoulos S (2017) “How Does Neuroscience Explain Spiritual and Religious Experiences?”,
Blumberg L (2014) “What Happens to the Brain During Spiritual Experiences?”, theatlantic.com/
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Dysexiahelp.org (2018), “Pablo Picasso”, dyslexiahelp.umich.edu/success-stories/pablo-picasso

English T (2019) ‘9 Famous Artists Who Have Synesthesia and How It Affected Them’,
interestingengineering.com/9-famous-artists-who-have-synesthesia-and-how-it-affected-them

Ferreira R (2018), ‘Artists’ Stories: Artists Who Suffered Mental Illness (And How It Affected
Their Art)’ dailyartmagazine.com/artists-who-suffered-mental-illness/Greenwood (2016),
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nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5318923/

Greenwood T (2017), “Positive Traits in the Bipolar Spectrum: The Space between Madness
and Genius”, https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5318923/

Haass-Koffler C & Kenna G (2013), “Bacchus by Caravaggio as the Visual Diagnosis of

Alcohol Use Disorder from the Fifth Edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual
of Mental Disorders (DSM-5)”,researchgate.net/publication/256074866_Bacchus_by_
Caravaggio_as_the_Visual_Diagnosis_of_Alcohol_Use_Disorder_from_the_Fifth_Edition_
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A CONCISE GUIDE TO NEURODIVERSITY What is Neurodiversity?

Happe F (2018), “Why are savant skills and special talents associated with autism?”, ncbi.
nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6127767/

Hays S (2018), “Transhumanism social and philosophical movement,” britannica.com/topic/

transhumanism

Holm-Hadulla R & Koutsoukou-Argyraki A (2017), “Bipolar Disorder and/or Creative

Bipolarity: Robert Schumann’s Exemplary Psychopathology - Combining Symptomatological
and Psychosocial Perspectives with Creativity Research”, https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.
gov/29017153/

James I (2003), “Singular Scientists,” Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine, ncbi.nlm.
nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC539373

Kyaga, Lichtenstein, Bowman, Hultman, Langstrom, Landre (2018), “ Creativity and Mental
Disorder: Family Study of 300,000 People With Severe Mental Disorder,” pubmed.ncbi.
nlm.nih.gov/21653945/

Lancaster University (2012), ‘Research explores the positives of bipolar disorder’ sciencedaily.
com/releases/2012/05/120503115927.htm

Loughran E (2020), “Why We Need Diverse Autism Representations in Media”, neuroclastic.

com/2020/01/02/why-we-need-diverse-autism-representations-in-media/

Mayo Clinic (2019), ‘Schizophrenia’. mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/schizophrenia/

symptoms-causes/syc-20354443

Margonelli, L (2014) ‘Collective Mind in the Mound: How Do Termites Build Their
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Nessy (2011), ‘9 Strengths of Dyslexia,’ nessy.com

Nola (2019), “A newly discovered account of jazz legend Buddy Bolden’s mental decline”,
nola.com/entertainment_life/music/article_30f734a8-0994-53a1-b50f-7fe7a193b03a.html

Nutt A (2015) “Did John Nash’s schizophrenia boost his beautiful mind?,” washingtonpost.
com/news/to-your-health/wp/2015/05/26/did-john-nashs-schizophrenia-boost-his-beautiful-min

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A CONCISE GUIDE TO NEURODIVERSITY What is Neurodiversity?

Pecorino P (2001), “Philosophy of Religion: Mystical Experiences”, qcc.cuny.edu/

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Randerson J (2009) “A prenatal test for autism would deprive the world of future geniuses,”
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Stanford Medicine (2013), “Autistic kids who best peers at math show different brain
organization, study shows”, med.stanford.edu/news/all-news/2013/08/autistic-kids-who-best-
peers-at-math-show-different-brain-organization-study-shows.html

Stoppler M (2018), “Autism: Symptoms & Signs”, medicinenet.com/autism_symptoms_

and_signs/symptoms.htm

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Andrew Nierenberg”, youtube.com/watch?v=bMkQAUMH5CA

Thomson H (2015), “Intelligence, creativity and bipolar disorder may share underlying
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A CONCISE GUIDE TO NEURODIVERSITY What is Neurodiversity?

Urist J (2017), “Why Do So Many Artists Have Synesthesia?”, “thecut.com/2016/07/why-

do-so-many-artists-have-synesthesia.html

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Walkine Y (2011), “Is There An Up Side To Autism?”, medscape.com/viewarticle/753068

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brain#1

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A CONCISE GUIDE TO NEURODIVERSITY The Human As Social Animal

3 THE HUMAN AS SOCIAL ANIMAL

As with many other animal species, the human species survives and functions by working
in groups and societies. Group function and social psychology are important to survival.
Love, loyalty, lust, friendship and tribalism are common human drives.

Humans’ greatest achievements are in one way or another products of groups: science and
technology, language, expansion of knowledge, art and literature, cities and government. As
a society is premised on a particular way of thinking, history is filled with famous different
thinkers who come into conflict with society.

People whose brains function differently than normal often and almost by definition have
issues fitting in with society. This can range from ‘being weird’ and being an outsider
to people who have serious functional issues, unable to hold a job or stay in school to
being unable to communicate and even function in their day-to-day lives. Many people in
prisons and who are homeless or jobless are mentally ill. Drug addiction and alcoholism
are pathologized as mental disorders and many otherwise mentally ill self-medicate with
drugs and alcohol. (Cannon 2016)

Famous different-thinking people often have functional issues. The autistic Paul Dirac required
his wife to take care of daily things so he could not focus on his work. He was one of the
great scientific and mathematical intellects of his era and winner of the 1933 Nobel Prize in
Physics, but needed assistance to live his life. He was well known for his social deficits and
peculiarities, and Niels Bohr called him “the strangest man.” (Close 2009) (Farmello 2009)

Many unique thinkers were outsiders to society or otherwise had complex relationships
with society. Van Gogh was unable to fit in with society’s norms. The French novelist and
playwright Genet had longtime troubles with society, including being imprisoned and living
a “deviant” lifestyle as defined by society.

Revolutionary religious thinkers from Jesus Christ to George Fox to Michael Servetus had
novel views of the world that came into conflict with their societies. All three were labeled as
crazy, Jesus and Servetus were killed, Jesus broke laws and Fox regularly was jailed. Religious
pioneers such as Buddha and Leo Tolstoi felt they had to give up their wealth and leave
normal society to pursue their spirituality. Muhammad left society to have his revelations.
Leaving the day-to-day rat race to pursue spiritual or artistic dreams is an age-old story.

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A CONCISE GUIDE TO NEURODIVERSITY The Human As Social Animal

Figure 4. 2nd-century AD carving of The Great Renunciation: Prince Siddhartha

(Buddha) leaving his palace to live as an ascetic. The hooves of the horse are
supported by deities.

This points out that a society’s norms are about functioning and not always about many other
things such as knowledge and new information. Those in social power can feel threatened
by and suppress new knowledge that might cause troubles with the social norms.

Scientists with new ideas, inventors and revolutionary artists almost by definition are people
who think outside the social norms and traditions. Marquis de Sade, Louis-Ferdinand
Celine, Caravaggio, Paul Gauguin and other revolutionary artists had aspects of their lives
or work that lay outside even of today’s accepted social norms and rules. Go through the
list of great artists, religious leaders and thinkers and observe how they came into conflict
with society in one way or another.

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A CONCISE GUIDE TO NEURODIVERSITY The Human As Social Animal

Figure 5. The 16th-17th century Italian painter Caravaggio’s violent, disturbing

behavior was outside the bounds of social and legal acceptability for both his
and today’s era. Numerous psychiatrists believe he was bipolar. (Megatulski
2003) (Haass-Koffler & Kenna G 2003)

Societies have a love-hate relationship with different thinkers. Different thinkers include
criminals and social outcasts, but also inventors, scientists, political leaders and artists who
contribute to society. Many great thinkers and knowledge will always remain hidden, as it
is outside of the prevailing sentiments and fashions of its time, or lost in the happenstance
of time and space, or unable to be translated into language itself.

How to organize groups and societies, questions of the rights of the individual versus the
greater good, are constant debates without objective answers. There is no one right way to
order a society or one way how to consider how the individual fits within society.

3.1 FURTHER READING

“Individual and Society: Irreconcilable Enemies?” by philosophy professor Tibor Machan.
https://fee.org/articles/individual-and-society-irreconcilable-enemies/

3.2 DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

Give examples where you think the behavior of someone who thinks unusually should be
altered for the sake of society?

What is more important to you: the rights of the individual or the benefit of society?

Discuss the conflicts of different thinkers, including people with disorders, and society.

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BOOK TITLE The Human As Social Animal

3.3 REFERENCES
Cannon J (2016), “We all want to fit in”, psychologytoday.com/us/blog/brainstorm/201607/
we-all-want-fit-in

Close F (2009), “Paul Dirac: a man of few words”, nature.com/articles/459326a

Graham F (2009), The Strangest Man: The Hidden Life of Paul Dirac, Mystic of the
Atom, Basic Books

Haass-Koffler C & Kenna G (2003), “Bacchus by Caravaggio as the Visual Diagnosis of

Alcohol Use Disorder from the Fifth Edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of
Mental Disorders (DSM-5): Frontiers in Psychiatry 4:86 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyt.2013.00086

Megatulski (2003), “Creativity and Bipolar Disorder”, serendipstudio.org/exchange/

serendipupdate/creativity-and-bipolar-disorder

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24
A CONCISE GUIDE TO NEURODIVERSITY Cultural Differences As Neurodiversity

4 CULTURAL DIFFERENCES
AS NEURODIVERSITY
“Everyone is to some extent differently-abled (an expression
favored by many neurodiverse people), because we are all
born different and raised differently”

– Professors Robert Austin and Gary Pisano (Austin and

Pisono 2017)

Brain functioning isn’t just inborn but also developed through the environment, education,
culture and socialization.

Much diversity in thinking amongst peoples in the multicultural world is due to the peoples
coming from different cultures. Peoples’ perceptions of art, society, fashion, politics, morals
and etiquette are influenced by culture. Everything from what is the proper age for marriage
to whether dogs are pets or food to how to settle personal disputes are influenced by
culture. What is legal in one culture may be illegal in another. What is accepted thoughts
and behavior in one culture may be pathologized as a disorder in another.

People from a culture have shared cultural references and symbols, including language,
music, popular television shows, childhood stories, popular sports and cultural figures. These
cultural differences in thinking and behavior are self-evident to anyone who has visited
another country or had visitors from far away, reads books, watches foreign movies, or lives
in a multicultural society. (Broussard 2020) (West 2007)

Culture affects one’s brain development and functioning. Different cultures emphasize
different ways of thinking, whether putting an emphasis on the spiritual in the East or the
scientific/logic in the West.

“Exactly how might culture wire our brains? According to

findings from cultural neuroscience, the mechanism has
to do with the brain’s plasticity, or the brain’s ability to
adapt to long-lasting engagement in scripted behaviors
(i.e. cultural tasks). The capacity of our brains to undergo
structural changes from recurrent daily tasks has been well
documented (e.g., larger hippocampus — a region that is
intimately involved in spatial memory — of London taxi
drivers; increased cortical density in the motor cortex of
jugglers).”

– Psychologist Marianna Pogosyan Ph.D. (Pogosyan 2017)

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A CONCISE GUIDE TO NEURODIVERSITY Cultural Differences As Neurodiversity

A study at the University of Illinois had people from the Western and Eastern cultures look
at the same series of photos. The people perceived the photos differently and their eyes
moved differently depending on their culture. Their brains were being scanned while this
was happening, and the scans showed that their brains were neurologically and cognitively
functioning differently. (Khamsi 2007)

“Scientists have long recognized that the mental processes

behind thinking and reasoning differ between people raised
in Western and Eastern cultures. Those in the West tend to
use ‘analytical’ processing -- analyzing objects independently
of context -- while those in the East see situations and
objects as a whole, which is known as ‘holistic’ processing.”

– Kokoro Research Center, Kyoto University (Yoshiyuki et

al 2017)

This helps explain why Westerners often have great difficulty understanding and learning
some Buddist and Hindu concepts. Their brains function differently.

4.1 AN EXAMPLE OF HOW ENVIRONMENT

AFFECTS VISUAL PERCEPTION
The BaMbuti Pygmies of Congo traditionally live their entire lives in the dense rainforest,
where the furthest away anyone can see is feet. They learned, loved, played and hunted in
this environment. British-born anthropologist Colin Turnbull wrote how he took one of these
Pygmies, named Kenge, for his first time to a wide-open plain. (Penn State University 2015)

As the two stood on a hill overlooking the land, a group of water buffalo was seen a few
miles away. Having no experience of how things appear smaller over long distances, Kenge
asked what kind of insects they were. Turnbull told him they were water buffalo, and
Kenge laughed loudly at the “stupid story.” Turnbull drove Kenge towards the water buffalo.
Watching the animals growing visually larger, Kenge became scared and said it was witchcraft.

Human beings develop an idiosyncratic logic and sensibility distinct to the environment
where they were brought up. The environment one grows up in is seemingly the world. A
child born and raised in the inner city versus the country, rich versus poor, in Cairo versus
Chicago, conservative family versus liberal. The person who has lived her whole life in
Portland or Cairo may get a chuckle at that story about the Pygmy, then dismiss the idea
that a similar incongruity could exist with her native logic.

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A CONCISE GUIDE TO NEURODIVERSITY Cultural Differences As Neurodiversity

Figure 6.

In Figure 6, which yellow line looks longer? The yellow lines are the same length. Measure
them yourself. It is your lifelong experience with diminishing scales in open spaces that
caused you to perceive the upper line as larger.

Kenge would not have been fooled by this illusion and would have correctly said the lines
are the same length.

This all shows why the inclusion of the neurodiverse in society, classrooms and workplaces is
compared to and a part of including the diversity of races, genders, ethnicities and cultures.
Multiculturalism involves a diversity of ways of thinking, and the neurodiverse are part of
this multiculturalism. (Manji 2019)

4.3 QUESTIONS
Give examples of how people see the world or things differently based on their nationality,
culture and/or family upbringing.

Can you think of other environmental or social ways that form how people think and make
them think differently than others?

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A CONCISE GUIDE TO NEURODIVERSITY Cultural Differences As Neurodiversity

4.4 REFERENCES
Austin R & Pisano G (2017), “Neurodiversity as a Competitive Advantage”, hbr.org/2017/05/
neurodiversity-as-a-competitive-advantage

Broussard J (2020), “The Psychology Of Culture Shock”, vertoeducation.org/verto-education/

psychology-of-culture-shock/

Khamsi R (2007), “Can culture dictate the way we see?”, newscientist.com/article/dn11785-

can-culture-dictate-the-way-we-see/

Manji I (2019), “Diversity Based On Labels Is Not Diversity At All | Think | NBC News”,
youtube.com/watch?v=yo4OBDmlkRY

West C (2007), “How Culture Affects the Way We Think”, psychologicalscience.org/observer/

how-culture-affects-the-way-we-think

Yoshiyuki Ueda, Lei Chen, Jonathon Kopecky, Emily S. Cramer, Ronald A. Rensink, David
E. Meyer, Shinobu Kitayama, Jun Saiki ( 2017), “Cultural Differences in Visual Search for
Geometric Figures”, Cognitive Science”, DOI: 10.1111/cogs.12490

Penn State University, “Introductory Psychology Blog: Depth Perception” sites.psu.edu/

intropsychsp14n2/2014/03/06/depth-perception/

Pogosyan M (2017), “How Culture Wires Our Brains”,.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/

between-cultures/201701/how-culture-wires-our-brains

West C (2007), “How Culture Affects the Way We Think”, psychologicalscience.org/observer/

how-culture-affects-the-way-we-think

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A CONCISE GUIDE TO NEURODIVERSITY Pathology

5 PATHOLOGY
The central debate within and surrounding the neurodiversity movement is what if any ways
of brain functioning should be pathologized, or categorized as a disorder. Even beyond the
topic of neurodiversity, what and how to pathologize thinking has long been a debate in
psychology and psychiatry.

The American Psychiatric Association’s diagnostic manual defines a mental disorder as: “…a
syndrome characterized by​a clinically significant disturbance in an individual’s cognitive,
emotion regulation, or behavior that reflects a dysfunction in the psychological, biological,
or developmental process underlying mental functioning. Mental disorders are usually
associated with significant distress in social, occupational, or other important activities.”
(Van Heugten 2015)

According to Steven Gans MD, assistant professor of psychiatry at Harvard, “Mental

variations today are called disorders when they cause personal distress and in impairment
in multiple areas of life, such as working, social, relations, etc.” (Cherry 2020)

As with all classification and definition systems, this pathology has a particular purpose
and scope. It involves subjectivity and limits, and should not be looked at as answering or
even addressing all questions about human brain functioning and behavior. Pathology is
based on social norms and how one fits in with society, along with subjective and personal
judgments about distress and pain. (Crowley 2010)

“Psychosis has been defined as ‘any one of several altered

states of consciousness, transient or persistent, that prevent
integration of sensory or extrasensory information into reality
models accepted by the broad consensus of society, and
that lead to maladaptive behavior and social sanctions . .
. .This is based on the assumption that we understand the
nature of ‘reality’, and that there is a narrow band of ‘normal’
perception, outside of which there is little useful potential.”

– Nikki Crowley Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Biology and

Biobehavioral Health at Pennsylvania State University
(Crowly 2010)

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A CONCISE GUIDE TO NEURODIVERSITY Pathology

“Whether you are regarded as disabled or gifted depends

largely on when and where you were born. In other times
and other places, there have been different disability/ability
diagnosis depending upon cultural values. . . . We should
not regard diagnostic labels as absolute and set in stone,
but think, instead, of their existence relative to a particular
social setting”

– Thomas Armstrong, Ph.D., Director of the American

Institute for Learning and Human Development
(Armstrong 2018)

Areas beyond these pathology parameters include the skills, special insights, special perspectives
and knowledge, spirituality and artistic insights people pathologized as having disorders may
have. (Ivypanda 2020)

5.1 SOME OF TODAY’S DISORDERS WERE NOT

ALWAYS CONSIDERED DISORDERS
Whether or not a way of thinking or behavior is useful or normal depends on the situation,
the time and place. There have long been disagreements and changes as to what should be
pathologized. What has been pathologized in the past isn’t always pathologized today, and
what is pathologized today may not be in the future.

Years ago, homosexuality and being left-handed were pathologized, and psychologists, educators
and psychiatrists tried to cure them. Nineteenth-century physician Samuel Cartwright
invented the ‘mental disorder’ of drapetomania, which was the desire for a slave to seek
freedom. Hysteria was once a common medical diagnosis for women. Even though it was
categorized as a disorder, hysteria’s symptoms were synonymous with normal functioning
female sexuality. (AGLP 2010) (Johns Hopkins University 2017)

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A CONCISE GUIDE TO NEURODIVERSITY Pathology

Figure 7. Charlotte Perkins Gillman’s classic 1892 feminist story ‘The Yellow
Wallpaper’ came from her own experience as a patient. She had suffered from
depression, and a physician told her the cure was to live as a domestic wife,
and avoid writing and mental stimulation.

Disorders such as bipolar disorder, dyslexia and ADHD are pathologized, while mystical
experiences and synesthesia are not. It’s a matter of value-judgment and subjective criterion.

AHDD, or attention deficit syndrome, is problematic in today’s rigid classroom and

workplaces. However, ADHD was normal and beneficial in hunting, gathering societies.
(Krans 2018) (Konner 2010)

“It’s an understandable viewpoint, considering that for 8

million years since the earliest human ancestors evolved from
apes, we’ve been nomadic people, wandering the earth,
chasing wild animals, and moving to wherever food was.
There was always something new to see and explore. This
sounds like an ideal environment for someone with ADHD,
and research may prove that hyperactive hunter-gatherers
were indeed better equipped than their peers.”

– ADHD and Evolution (Krans 2018)

Dyslexia and the mathematics learning disability called dyscalculia are modern disorders.
Throughout most of history, most humans did not and did not need to read or do advanced
math. (Stansberry 2013)

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A CONCISE GUIDE TO NEURODIVERSITY Pathology

In his seminal 1976 book, The Origin of Consciousness in the Breakdown of the Bicameral
Mind, Princeton University psychologist Julian Jaynes theorized that many modern mental
disorders are just early ways of thinking. He said schizophrenia, with its symptomatic
commanding voices, is the way early peoples’ brains normally functioned and perceived
Gods. (Jaynes 1976) (Julian Jaynes Society 2016)

Journalist Harvey Blume, who popularized the word neurodiversity, wrote: “Neurodiversity
may be every bit as crucial for the human race as biodiversity is for life in general. Who can
say what form of wiring will prove best at any given moment? Cybernetics and computer
culture, for example, may favor a somewhat autistic cast of mind.” (Blume 1998)

5.2 FURTHER READING

‘Diagnoses: Harmful or Helpful?’ by Samantha Smithstein Psy.D.
https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/what-the-wild-things-are/201704/diagnoses-
harmful-or-helpful

‘Pathologizing the Human Condition’ by Dan Peters PhD

https://thehealthcareblog.com/blog/2013/09/01/pathologizing-the-human-condition/

5.3 REFERENCES
AGLP (2010), “The History of Psychiatry & Homosexuality”, aglp.org/gap/1_history/

Armstrong T (2018), ‘Neurodiversity,’ institute4learning.com/resources/articles/neurodiversity/

Blume H (1998), “Neurodiversity On the neurological underpinnings of geekdom”,theatlantic.

com/magazine/archive/1998/09/neurodiversity/305909/

Cherry K (2020), “Psychological Disorders Diagnosis and Types”, verywellmind.com/what-

is-a-psychological-disorder-2795767

Crowley N (2010), “‘Psychosis or Spiritual Emergence? – Consideration of the Transpersonal

Perspective within Psychiatry’”, rcpsych.ac.uk/docs/default-source/members/sigs/spirituality-
spsig/spirituality-special-interest-group-publications-nicki-crowley-psychosis-or-spiritual-
emergence.pdf?sfvrsn=5685d4c1_2

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A CONCISE GUIDE TO NEURODIVERSITY Pathology

IvyPanda (2020, June 25). “Franz Kafka’s and Vincent van Gogh’s Connection”, ivypanda.
com/essays/franz-kafkas-and-vincent-van-goghs-connection/

Jaynes J (1976), The Origin of Consciousness in the Breakdown of the Bicameral Mind,
Mariner Books

Johns Hopkins University (2017), “Stuttering and “Retraining” Left-Handed Children in

Mid-Century U.S.” press.jhu.edu/news/blog/stuttering-and-“retraining”-left-handed-children-
mid-century-us

Julian Jaynes Society (2017), “Overview of Julian Jaynes’s Theory of Consciousness and the
Bicameral Mind”, julianjaynes.org/about/about-jaynes-theory/overview/

Konner M (2010), “Is ADHD a Disease of Civilization?” psychologytoday.com/us/blog/

the-tangled-wing/201009/is-adhd-disease-civilization

Krans B (2018), “ADHD and Evolution: Were Hyperactive Hunter-Gatherers Better Adapted
Than Their Peers?”, healthline.com/health/adhd/evolution

Stanberry K (2013), “Defining dyslexia: a modern dilemma”, greatschools.org/gk/articles/

defining-dyslexia/

van Heugten T (2015) “The classification of psychiatric disorders according to DSM-5

deserves an internationally standardized psychological test battery on symptom level”, ncbi.
nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4523712/

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A CONCISE GUIDE TO NEURODIVERSITY The Neurodiversity Movement

6 THE NEURODIVERSITY
MOVEMENT
The neurodiversity movement is a general, loosely-knit movement that wishes for society
to reconsider mental disorders as natural neurological variations.

The supporters of the movement see legitimate human thinking as a broad spectrum of
variations that goes beyond the normal parameters defined by a particular culture and society.
They say many of what now are considered disorders are really different but legitimate ways
of brain functioning. Many high-functioning autistics who succeed in school and work
do not feel there is something wrong with them. They see some negative aspects to their
brain function just as all ways of thinking and being have negative aspects. However, they
also see and like the positives. (Robinson 2013) (Zur Institute 2015) (Armstrong 2020)
(Baron-Cohen 2019)

The neurodiversity movement has traditionally been associated with the autistic. However,
it has been broadened to include many other different ways of brain functioning including
dyslexia, dyscalculia, attention deficit syndrome, bipolar disorder, anxiety disorder, Tourette
syndrome, and post-traumatic stress syndrome (PTSD).

The movement believes it is important to remove the stigma from mental illness and to
consider all people as whole and important, not defective. One of the problems for the
neurodivergent is lack of self-esteem due to how people and society consider them.

“As an adult with autism, I find the idea of natural variation

to be more appealing than the alternative—the suggestion
that I am innately bad, or broken and in need of repair. I
didn’t learn about my own autism until I reached middle
age. All those (pre-diagnosis) years I assumed my struggles
stemmed from inherent deficiencies. Asserting that I am
different—not defective—is a much healthier position to take.
Realizing the idea is supported by science is even better.”

– John Elder Robison, neurodiversity scholar at College

of William and Mary

Many in the neurodiversity movement consider it a political and social justice movement.
Sociologist and neurodiversity pioneer Judy Singer saw the neurodivergent as oppressed
in society the same as other minorities are oppressed. She felt they should have their own
movement.(Spectrum Suite 2018) (Singer 1999)

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A CONCISE GUIDE TO NEURODIVERSITY The Neurodiversity Movement

“For me, the key significance of the Autism Spectrum lies

in its call for and anticipation of a politics of neurological
diversity, or ‘neurodiversity.’ The neurologically different
represent a new addition to the familiar political categories
of class/gender/race and will augment the insights of the
social model of disability. The rise of neurodiversity takes
postmodern fragmentation one step further. Just as the
postmodern era sees every once too solid belief melt into
air, even our most taken-for-granted assumptions: that
we all more or less see, feel, touch, hear, smell, and sort
information, in more or less the same way, (unless visibly
disabled) – are being dissolved.”

– Judy Singer Ph.D. (Singer 1999)

The neurodiversity movement works to get the neurodivergent integrated as best as possible
into society, through education, accommodations and policies. They want to reform
medical treatments. The moment wants the autistic and their advocates to be included in
the debates and decision-making about treatment and handling of the disorders. They feel
it is unacceptable that their views and personal needs are not weighted in decided what
treatments are prescribed.(appliedbehavioranalysisedu.org 2018)

Some in the movement want to change terminology, such as getting rid of what they perceive
to be stigmatizing language such as disorder, mental illness and abnormal. However, there
is no uniformity of opinion about this, with some neurodivergent finding no offense and
themselves using those words.

For any movement or demographic there is no one voice, no one view, no one theory, no one
language. Respecting any demographic (race, gender, disabled, nationality, other) is knowing
and respecting that there is a wide variety of philosophies, views, political persuasions and
opinions in the group. Not only is there diversity of viewpoints within the neurodiversity
movement, there are autistic and other neurodivergent who do not support it.

6.1 CONTROVERSIES AND DEBATES

As with any political and social movement, there are controversies and opposing viewpoints.
The key disagreement is about whether or not mental disorders should be pathologized and
how and if they are treated.

Some believe that autism, for one example, is a genuine mental illness and a deficiency and
should be treated as such. Many parents of autistic children consider autism a disease to be

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A CONCISE GUIDE TO NEURODIVERSITY The Neurodiversity Movement

cured, at least in their children. There is funding and research hoping to eradicate autism
as one would hope to eradicate cancer. Many people consider children with such disorders
as damaged and unwhole. (Robinson 2013) (Baron-Cohen 2019)

Many neurodiversity movement advocates say the autistic are not mentally disordered and
there is nothing to cure. Some go as far as to say there should be no research into a cure
and chastise parents of autistic children who search for a cure. They believe that curing a
mental illness is equivalent to eugenics, and that treatments are attempts to change their
personalities against their will. (Robinson 2013)

“To many neurodiversity proponents, talk of ‘cure’ feels like

an attack on their very being. They detest those words for
the same reason other groups detest talk of ‘curing gayness’
or ‘passing for white,’ and they perceive the accommodation
of neurological differences as a similarly charged civil rights
issue.”

– John Elder Robison, College of William and Mary

College (Robinson 2013)

Some in this camp of the neurodiversity movement can be zealous and radical and treat
people who believe differently derogatorily. There are complaints of groupthink, illiberalism
and bullying in some social media forums from the zealous in the movement. There can
be acrimonious disagreement between parents who want to treat and cure their children
and those in the neurodiversity movement who are adamantly against such attempts. (Spaar
2018) (appliedbehavioranalysisedu.org) (Hiary 2021)

A criticism of the neurodiversity movement is that its advocates belong to and focus on
the neurodivergent who are high-functioning. There are neurodivergent who have severe
issues, including the inability to communicate, function normally and who have great social
troubles that cause them unhappiness. Some autistic and others want to be cured, and their
viewpoints must be considered.

Some, such as autistic activist Twilah Hiari, say the movement paints too rosy a picture
of mental disorders, emphasizing the positive aspects and glossing over the negative and
disability aspects. (Hiari 2020)

A man with autism and bipolar disorder wrote the following personal perspective:

“As with so many autistics, I grew up with bipolar disease.

It’s a disease, not a disorder. It destroys families and lives. It
dissolves friendships and results in bankruptcies. They are not

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A CONCISE GUIDE TO NEURODIVERSITY The Neurodiversity Movement

just mentally different. They themselves often lead difficult

lives and occasionally make others’ lives much more difficult
into the bargain. We should make them feel welcome and
safe in our midst. I fail to see how neurodiversity instruction
will accomplish that. At best it will suggest that the mentally
different folks need not be blamed for failing to offer
something to humanity. And I guess that is something. Not
much, but something.”

Many people with disorders will never be able to finish school or financially support themselves.
Society has to consider how to accommodate them and make their lives worthwhile. This
also says that many social ideas of success do not apply to everyone (“Get a degree and
occupation, get married and have a family”).

Happily, for the majority of people involved in this debate, there is much common ground.
Whether they label autism a disorder or strongly disagree with such labeling, most agree that
the neurodivergent should be treated well, and appropriately accommodated in education
and work. Most from both camps believe in addressing many of these issues that cause
functional problems or distress in the neurodivergent.

6.2 NEURODIVERSITY IN SCHOOLS

There has been recent work to include the neurodiversity movement in the schools. Traditionally,
the neurodivergent have had troubles fitting in traditional classrooms and often have been
separated from normal students. Traditional school settings are often rigid, with students
sitting at desks, watching long lectures, being taught and tested in particular ways. There
are complaints about the content and style of teaching not just for the neurodiversity but
for all students.

“From an evolutionary perspective, school is an abnormal

environment. Nothing like it ever existed in the long course
of evolution during which we acquired our human nature.
School is a place where children are expected to spend most
of their time sitting quietly in chairs, listening to a teacher
talk about things that don’t particularly interest them, reading
what they are told to read, writing what they are told to
write, and feeding memorized information back on tests.”

– Boston College psychology professor Peter Gray

(Gray 2010)

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A CONCISE GUIDE TO NEURODIVERSITY The Neurodiversity Movement

A Cambridge University study criticized the way all students are taught, including the
exclusion of areas such as music and art. and its emphasis on rote learning over creativity
and imagination. (Harris 2016) (suitable education 2018)

“The National Curriculum has for many years been criticised for
its narrow focus and lack of room for creativity or development
of problem solving skills There is an over-emphasis on the
skills of reading, writing and maths at the expense of other
subjects, the report claims. This limits children’s enjoyment
of school and risks severely compromising their natural
curiosity, imagination and love of learning.”

– suitable-education.uk (suitable education 2018)

Beyond expanding the curriculum and teaching methods, schools must understand that
students’ brains function in a diversity of ways. They must understand that people have
different ways of learning, different skills and deficits. A student who has trouble learning
in one way will learn well in another. (Sparks 2020)

When possible, the neurodivergent should be included with the normal students. It is good
for all students. It helps reduce bullying and increases mutual understanding. Different
thinkers have much to teach other students. Schools should teach and test to accommodate
the different ways of thinking, and the diverse ways all students learn, behave and express
themselves. (Rentenbach, Prislovsky & Rachael Gabriel 2017)

6.3 NEURODIVERSITY IN THE WORKPLACE

Many people with mental disorders are unemployed or underemployed. Due to the ways
workplaces are set up, the neurodivergent often has trouble fitting in. However, many
workplaces are working to recruit and integrate the neurodiverse in their workplaces. (US
Department of Labor)

Many companies have become conscious of neurodiversity, and are working to be inclusive
of people with disorders. This is in part because people with certain disorders, such as high
functioning autism, bipolar disorder and dyslexia, have special skills useful for businesses.

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“Most managers are familiar with the advantages organizations

can gain from diversity in the backgrounds, disciplinary
training, gender, culture, and other individual qualities of
employees. Benefits from neurodiversity are similar but more
direct. Because neurodiverse people are wired differently
from ‘neurotypical’ people, they may bring new perspectives
to a company’s efforts to create or recognize value.”

– Professors Robert Austin and Gary Pisano, Harvard

Business Review (Austin and Pisono 2017)

It is important for business leaders to understand the concepts of neurodiversity and inclusion.
It is also important to give employees general education about neurodiversity. The hiring
and recruitment processes should be changed, as this is the main way neurodiverse don’t get
jobs. An autistic person may have great skills but interview poorly as she has social deficits.
She may have poor eye contact, speak differently or be unusually honest.The dyslexic may
have troubles with written tests. (Austin and Pisono 2017) (Williams S 2020)

“Many autistic people feel the need to hide their autism,

believing employers will see this as a problem they will
need to manage throughout their employment. Hiding this
causes misunderstandings and frequently results in disaster.
Organizations do need to understand and accept people
with autism; this starts with being aware of the condition
and the benefit of employing people on the spectrum.”

– Technology consulting firm auticon (Auticon in Williams

2020)

Reasonable accommodations should be made for people with mental disorders, just as
they are made with an employee with a physical disability. This does not involve lowering
performance standards or expectations. It means modifying work conditions to help them
better do their jobs. Accommodations can include flexible working hours, and the ability
to sometimes work from home. As the autistic can get sensory overload, sound-blocking
headphones and quiet rest/thinking spaces free of noise and distractions. Using communication
and instruction methods that suit the needs and sensibilities of the neurodivergent is
important. These and other considerations can help all employees. (Day-Duro E 2018)
(Bastion 2019) (Bastion 2019)

Coaching neurodivergent employees on what is expected social and occupational norms is

important. Many social ways that are intuitive to most people are not to, say, someone who
is autistic or bipolar. Some companies assign a work-buddy to the neurodivergent and have
an employee that champions the neurodiversity movement. (Williams 2020)

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Businesses have learned that with accommodations and planning, they can tap into the
skills of the neurodivergent. Considerations of the diversity of the ways all employees and
students think, learn and best function is helpful for all employees and students.

6.4 FURTHER READING AND RESOURCES

Increasing Neurodiversity in Disability and Social Justice Advocacy Groups

https://autisticadvocacy.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/whitepaper-Increasing-Neurodiversity-
in-Disability-and-Social-Justice-Advocacy-Groups.pdf

6.4.1 NEURODIVERSITY IN SCHOOLS

Different Learning Styles: https://www.time4learning.com/learning-styles/

Neurodiversity in schools: https://www.oecd.org/education/ceri/Spotlight12-Neurodiversity.pdf

“Valuing differences: Neurodiversity in the Classroom“: https://kappanonline.org/rentenbach-

prislovsky-gabriel-valuing-differences-neurodiversity-classroom/

Video: “Educating a neurodiverse world” by Bran Kinghorn, a Ph.D. student at Columbia

University’s Teacher College: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kT0eqy-_s7A&ab_
channel=TEDxTalks

American Institute for Learning and Human Development: institute4learning.com/

Trends Shaping Education Spotlight 12 - Neurodiversity in School: oecd.org/education/

ceri/Spotlight12-Neurodiversity.pdf

Valuing differences: Neurodiversity in the classroom: https://kappanonline.org/rentenbach-

prislovsky-gabriel-valuing-differences-neurodiversity-classroom/

Article on the gender gap in schools: https://www.ft.com/content/3b2509f2-fda2-11e8-aebf-

99e208d3e521

How cultural differences can cause troubles for students in school: https://www.theedadvocate.
org/how-cultural-differences-can-make-school-tougher-for-students/

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6.4.2 RESOURCES FOR NEURODIVERSITY IN WORKPLACES

Neurodiversity as a competitive advantage (Harvard Business Review): https://hbr.org/2017/05/

neurodiversity-as-a-competitive-advantage

Resources for Employers: https://www.neurodiversityhub.org/resources-for-employers

Neurodiversity in the workplace: https://askearn.org/topics/neurodiversity-in-the-workplace/

Tips for supporting neurodiversity in the workplace: https://www.forbes.com/sites/

rebekahbastian/2019/10/23/tips-for-supporting-neurodiversity-in-the-workplace/

6.4.3 ARTICLES ON THE NEURODIVERSITY MOVEMENT CONTROVERSIES

“The concept of neurodiversity if dividing the autism community”: https://blogs.scientificamerican.

com/observations/the-concept-of-neurodiversity-is-dividing-the-autism-community/

“The Neurodiversity Movement is Dangerous” Dr. Elizabeth Spaar, family medicine physician:
https://www.spectrumfamilypractice.com/single-post/2017/05/15/the-neurodiversity-movement-
is-dangerous

6.5 QUESTIONS
What are your views on these topics? Should different ways of thinking not be considered
disorders? How should disorders be considered, considering they situationally offer both
positive and negative aspects?

Should the mentally ill be forced to take medication to make them more normal? Under
what situations do you think they should be forced to take mediation?

6.6 REFERENCES
appliedbehavioranalysisedu.org (2018), “What Is The Neurodiversity Movement and Autism
Rights?”, appliedbehavioranalysisedu.org/what-is-the-neurodiversity-movement-and-autism-
rights/

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Armstrong T (2020),”American Institute For Learning and Human Development”.

institute4learning.com

Austin R & Pisano G (2017), “Neurodiversity as a Competitive Advantage”, hbr.org/2017/05/

neurodiversity-as-a-competitive-advantage

Baron-Cohen S (2019), “The Concept of Neurodiversity Is Dividing the Autism Community”,

blogs.scientificamerican.com/observations/the-concept-of-neurodiversity-is-dividing-the-
autism-community/

Bastian R (2019), “Tips For Supporting Neurodiversity In The Workplace”, forbes.

com/sites/rebekahbastian/2019/10/23/tips-for-supporting-neurodiversity-in-the-
workplace/?sh=159173a53f8c

Day-Duro E (2018), “Welcoming Neurodiversity at Work”, iedp.com/articles/welcoming-

neurodiversity-at-work/

Gray P (2010) “ADHD & School: Assessing Normalcy in an Abnormal Environment”.,

psychologytoday.com/us/blog/freedom-learn/201007/adhd-school-assessing-normalcy-in-
abnormal-environment

Hiari T (2020), “Mad in America, “madinamerica.com/author/sakari1/

Hirari T (2021), “Neurodiversity is Dead. Now what?”, madinamerica.com/2018/04/

neurodiversity-dead-now-what/

Rentenbach, Prislovsky & Rachael Gabriel (2017), “Valuing differences: Neurodiversity

in the Classroom”, kappanonline.org/rentenbach-prislovsky-gabriel-valuing-differences-
neurodiversity-classroom/

Robinson J (2013), “What Is Neurodiversity?”, psychologytoday.com/us/blog/my-life-

aspergers/201310/what-is-neurodiversity

Singer, J. (1999). ‘Why can’t you be normal for once in your life?: from a “Problem with
No Name” to a new category of disability’ In Corker, M and French, S (Eds.) Disability
Discourse Open University Press UK

Spaar E (2018), “The Neurodiversity Movement is Dangerous” Dr. Elizabeth Spaar, family
medicine physician: spectrumfamilypractice.com/single-post/2017/05/15/the-neurodiversity-
movement-is-dangerous

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Sparx (2020), “Four Ways to Support Neurodiversity in the Classroom”, ukfiet.org/2020/

four-ways-to-support-neurodiversity-in-the-classroom/

Spectrum Suite (2018) “Meet Judy Singer: A NeuroDiversity Pioneer”. myspectrumsuite.

com/meet-judy-singer/

suitable education (2018), “National Curriculum too narrow and failing generations of
children”. suitable-education.uk/national-curriculum-too-narrow-and-failing-generations-
of-children/

tes.com/news/our-curriculum-so-narrow-it-bores-both-pupils-and-teachers-and-crushes-creativity

US Department of Labor (2018), “Autism”, dol.gov/agencies/odep/program-areas/autism

Williams S (2020), “Fear of breaking social norms in the workplace behind high job turnover”,
itbrief.com.au/story/fear-of-breaking-social-norms-in-the-workplace-behind-high-job-turnover

Zur Institute (2015), “Autism and the Neurodiversity Paradigm”, zurinstitute.com/clinical-

updates/autism-and-the-neurodiversity-paradigm/

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