What is the Neurodiversity movement?

We are living in a time in which social movements want to make visible those concepts that have been stigmatized with negative connotations. The medical dictionary and the scientific etymology, especially that of a psychological nature (autism, ADHD, dyslexia) has been in charge of labeling groups that often suffer discrimination from others.

What we know as the neurodiversity movement It encompasses the group of people diagnosed with mental disorders or neurological disorders who are treated in a discriminatory way by society and who claim their rights. Let's see what it consists of.

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neurodiversity

The neurodiversity movement was started by the autistic community to refer to the diversity of human characteristics that are affected neurologically. The intention is none other than to substitute one vocabulary for another, using terminology without stigmas as opposed to concepts such as disease, pathology or mental deficiency. Initially, it is an idea that has gained a lot of strength within the scientific and social sector, but there are detractors who are increasingly critical of the application of these measures.

The concept of neurodiversity is used to insist on the nature of neurological and/or biological problems. That is, it is intended somehow normalize the differences that exist between people with mental disorders and those who do not experience them in the first person. For example, being dyslexic is normal in the sense that it is a condition that should not affect the personal or professional development of individuals, nor serve as an excuse to receive treatment discriminatory. It's just a different condition, neither better nor worse. They are natural variations of the human brain, nothing more.

The birth of this movement is attributed to the excessive medicalization suffered by this community and that, according to their complaints, only serves to increase prejudices and differences with other human beings. They are cared for in special schools, in special classes, they are put together with people in their same situation, avoiding contact with others. They are directed to specific jobs, usually for unskilled labor, a fact that makes it difficult for them to develop their interests and talents.

In addition, the movement of neurodiversity highlights the fact of the constant terminological damage that is assigned to the autistic and others, this approach being only negative, as something that must be solved or that can harm the whole of the society. The renowned doctor specializing in autism, Simon Baron-Cohen, or Dr. Thomas Anderson, a specialist in neurosciences, have been especially critical of the classic vocabulary of "disorders", and they have already substituted terms such as disorder for diversity, or difference for disability.

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Arguments in favor of the concept

The first thing that comes to mind when we say or read the word autistic is that it is a person with whom you should not get together or, directly, we call him weird or weird. Well, according to experts in the field, neither ADHD nor many other psychological conditions can be considered diseases as it is not a problem that lies in the functioning of the body as something isolated. In fact, the causes of these phenomena are unknown. For an abnormality to have the status of a disease, it must be capable of being curable or initiated by abnormalities in a specific area of ​​the body or DNA.

Among many of the arguments that exist to defend the concept of neurodiversity, the most important is to prevent the "affected" person from feeling underestimated, violated or considered a person with less rights. What's more, many autistic people believe the opposite. They claim to develop cognitive abilities superior to that of the average population, they reaffirm that they have a special and healthier way of perceiving everything that surrounds them.

Another of the beneficial elements of neurodiversity resides in focus on how to enhance the strengths of people who present this type of difference instead of striving to find the problems that come with it. One of the tools used to carry out this approach is the Universal Design for Learning from the University of North Carolina. However, it should be noted that the neurodiversity movement does not deny the difficulties that affected individuals have.

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elements against

Without completely contradicting the reasons and arguments in favor of the existence of neurodiversity, most scientific and medical experts in neuroscience warn of the need to Do not underestimate the serious problems experienced by people suffering from autism or other related disorders. They also see autism as a serious disorder, not just a variation on human diversity.

On the other hand, neuroanatomical abnormalities have been detected in the brains of those affected by disorders encompassed in the neurodiversity movement, although not concrete "starting points" of these alterations. Many family members also warn of the importance of not underestimating or excessively normalizing this phenomenon, and point out the serious drawbacks that represents having an autistic family member: in many cases self-harm, miscommunication, and unexpected outbursts of anger are frequent.