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.2023 Sep 1;5(3):225-235.
doi: 10.1089/aut.2021.0075. Epub 2023 Aug 30.

Imagining Neurodivergent Futures from the Belly of the Identity Machine: Neurodiversity, Biosociality, and Strategic Essentialism

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Imagining Neurodivergent Futures from the Belly of the Identity Machine: Neurodiversity, Biosociality, and Strategic Essentialism

Jacky Manidoomakwakwe Ellis. Autism Adulthood..

Abstract

Several critiques have emerged of the neurodiversity paradigm and of claims made by activists in the Neurodiversity Movement. These critiques include concerns that the Neurodiveristiy movement downplays the differences between Autistic people. In this article, I argue that the neurodiversity paradigm is a strategically adopted response to current realities. Sometimes, it is strategically necessary to appeal to existing narratives about Autism, or to emphasize solidarity within the Autistic community over the autism spectrum's internal diversity. At times, this can lead activists to neglect a more nuanced articulation of the Neurodiversity paradigm, which allows for the diversity of our community while still calling for solidarity in the face of shared experiences of discrimination. I compare this strategy with strategies of strategic essentialism utilized in the Indigenous Rights movement in Canada. I also explore the ways in which discourses of ableism and racism have historically been intertwined. Both Autistic people and Indigenous people represent diverse communities that must grapple with externally imposed identities to access legal rights, and both identities have been denigrated as mentally inferior by non-Autistic and colonial powers. I conclude that it is sometimes necessary to employ these types of strategies to secure needed resources and protections. I call for both scholars and advocates to take a more intersectional approach to understanding how strategic essentialism is being deployed within the Neurodiversity Movement.

Keywords: autism; biosociality; disability justice; intersectionality; neurodiversity; strategic essentialism.

Plain language summary

What is the debate that this article addresses?: I address current debates about the usefulness of understandings of autism forwarded within the Neurodiversity Movement, which portray autistic people as a unified group who are biologically different from non-Autistic people. This can downplay the diversity of the Autistic community. The Neurodiversity Movement is a social movement that supports the rights of people with neurological and cognitive differences such as autism. It is based on the belief that differences in the ways our minds work are a natural part of human diversity, and that there is not a single correct way for human minds to function. Some Neurodiversity advocates see value in emphasizing ways in which we are similar to each other.

What does the article propose?: I argue that some of the work done in anti-colonial and indigenous movements can be applied to the current debate within autism studies. Neurodiversity advocates would also benefit by clarifying where we are making arguments strategically to support advocacy goals. I argue that frameworks that present neurodiversity as comparable with biodiversity provide a starting place for further developing theory. Theories of neurodiversity need to allow for some understanding of biologically based differences, but without downplaying the importance of social factors in constructing autism, and without flattening out the diversity of our community. I also argue that seeing how autism intersects with other forms of difference, such as race, gender, and sexuality, is important for understanding discrimination against autistic people.

What are some of the points of connection between the neurodiversity movement and other movements?: I draw connections between the Indigenous rights movement and the Neurodiversity Movement. Indigenous people also have to navigate legal frameworks that reduce many different cultures and languages into one identity group. In a similar way, Autistic people often have to navigate supports and services through medical diagnosis, which can lump a diverse community into a single group. There is also a connection in the ways in which indigenous people have been denigrated by colonial powers as mentally inferior, and the ways in which Autistic people, and especially Autistic people with higher support needs, have been denigrated.

Why is this topic important?: The way that neurodiversity has been discussed in academic literature hasn't always accurately reflected the way it is discussed by activists. Sometimes, activists say things that don't fully match up with their underlying theoretical views because they need to appeal to existing narratives about autism, or because they want to build solidarity within the Autistic community. Also, the voices of those who experience multiple types of discrimination have often been overlooked. More discussion of how discrimination against disabled people relates to discrimination based on things like race and gender would make it easier for academic writers to understand the complexity of the Neurodiversity Movement. It would also make it easier for Neurodiversity advocates to understand the ways that prejudice against disabled people works in our society and highlight opportunities to build alliances with other movements.

Copyright 2023, Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers.

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Conflict of interest statement

No competing financial interests exist.

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References

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