Neurodiversity and Genetics Research
I’ve previously posted a description of how I see the neurodiversity paradigm, as well as a post contrasting the neurodiversity paradigm and the social model of disability. (We often conflate the...
View ArticleThe Philosophical Roots of Neurodiversity
I can be a bit of a theory nerd, sometimes. I like considering how different systems of thought develop in relation to one another. One of these theoretical questions that interests me is the...
View ArticleDeficit Isn’t a One-Way Street
Sometimes, the best way to see where our conventional assumptions can go wrong is to consider concrete examples. Within the pathology paradigm, we assume that autistic people are disordered, that they...
View ArticleDisability, Discrimination, and Politics
Here’s a fundamental question: what is the political status of autism? Are autism and other disabilities simply impairments that need to be addressed through the provisions of services and supports,...
View ArticleAutism Research or Neurotypical Research?
Here’s an interesting question: what is the proper subject of autism research? Or, to rephrase things slightly, who should be the subjects of autism research? When I use the word “subject” here, I...
View ArticleOn Neurodiversity: Part III: What is the Neurodiversity Paradigm?
Author’s Note: I no longer particularly like some of the ideas in the post, which I now think are a bit oversimplified. If you want an updated take on my view of neurodiversity, I wrote an article at...
View ArticleBurnout and Expectations
Today, the vast majority of researchers, clinicians, and professionals in the autism world don’t know about autistic burnout. Autistic burnout is an idea that comes from autistic adults, and given...
View ArticleAutism and Asperger’s in the Nazi Era
In the last couple of years, the autism world has witnessed a very intense debate regarding the historical origins of the neurotype we study. Traditionally, Hans Asperger – one of the first people if...
View ArticleA Tale of Discrimination
This is a bit of a departure from what I usually do with this blog, but I was contacted recently by an autistic person who was forbidden from pursuing an interest in aviation because of an autism...
View ArticleAdvocates, Researchers, and Reconciliation
I’m not writing this post because I particularly want to apportion blame to either researchers or neurodiversity advocates, or to fight over old grievances, as an end in itself. Mostly, I hope we can...
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