Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2022 May;66(2):73-92.
doi: 10.1159/000523723. Epub 2022 Feb 22.

The Neurodiversity Approach(es): What Are They and What Do They Mean for Researchers?

Patrick Dwyer  1   2
Affiliations

The Neurodiversity Approach(es): What Are They and What Do They Mean for Researchers?

Patrick Dwyer. Hum Dev. 2022 May.

Abstract

This paper presents the concepts of "neurodiversity" and the "neurodiversity approaches" towards disability and discusses how confusion regarding the meaning of these concepts exacerbates debate and conflict surrounding the neurodiversity approaches. For example, some claim the neurodiversity approaches focus solely on society and deny contributions of individual characteristics to disability (a controversial stance), whereas this paper joins other literature in acknowledging the contributions of both individual and society to disability. This paper also addresses other controversies related to neurodiversity, such as uncertainty regarding the scope of the approaches - to whom do they apply? - and their implications for diagnostic categories. Finally, it provides recommendations for developmental researchers who wish to carry out neurodiversity-aligned research: scholars are urged to study both individual neurodivergent people and the contexts around them; to consider both strengths and weaknesses; to recognize their own biases; and to listen to and learn from neurodivergent people.

Keywords: Autism; Disability; Medical model; Neurodevelopmental disabilities; Social model.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Financial relationships are enumerated below under “Funding Sources.” The author has no other conflicts of interest to declare. The author identifies as an autistic person and is diagnosed with autism. The author identifies as part of the neurodiversity movement. This positionality affects the views presented in this article.The author has no conflicts of interest to declare.

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

References

    1. Ameri M., Schur L., Adya M., Bentley F.S., McKay P., Kruse D. The disability employment puzzle: A field experiment on employer hiring behavior. ILR Review. (2018);71((2)):329–64.
    1. Armstrong T. Neurodiversity: Discovering the extraordinary gifts of autism, ADHD, dyslexia, and other brain differences. Da Capo Press; (2010).
    1. Arnold L. A brief history of “Neurodiversity” as a concept and perhaps a movement. Autonomy; (2017). http://www.larry-arnold.net/Autonomy/index.php/autonomy/article/view/AR2... .
    1. Arvidsson O., Gillberg C., Lichtenstein P., Lundström S. Secular changes in the symptom level of clinically diagnosed autism. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry. (2018);59((7)):744–51. - PubMed
    1. Asperger H. ‘Autistic psychopathy’. In: Frith U., editor. childhood (Ed., trans.), Autism and Asperger syndrome (pp. 37 92) Cambridge University Press Original work published 1944; (1991).