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What is Neurodiversity?

The concept of neurodiversity has fuelled a social justice movement advocating for the rights of those whose lives diverge from a socially-constructed default. However, deficit understandings of disability persist in educational settings and neurodivergent people continue to face disadvantage and discrimination in organizations constructed on normative understandings of the world.

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Asasumasu (2015) coined the term neurodivergent and defined it as “neurologically divergent from typical”.Asasumasu’s definition was broad and inclusive, capturing all such forms of divergence, explicitly noting autism, epilepsy, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), cluster headaches, Chiari malformation, ADHD, multiple sclerosis, Parkinson’s, apraxia, cerebral palsy, dyspraxia, various mental health conditions, and neurological differences for which no formal diagnosis has been defined (e.g. aphantasia).

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Definition according to Harvard Health Publish

  • Neurodiversity is a notion that every person interacts and experiences their surroundings differently.

  • There is no right way of thinking, learning, or/and behaving.

  • These differences should not be construed as defects or disorders.

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Neurodiversity refers to the natural variations in how people's brains work and process information. The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5) includes several neurodevelopmental disorders, such as autism and ADHD, as part of the concept of neurodiversity.
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The key points about neurodiversity and the DSM-5 are:
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  • The DSM-5 defines neurodevelopmental disorders as a group of conditions with onset in the developmental period that cause deficits and impairment in functioning.

  • Autism is one of the neurodevelopmental disorders listed in the DSM-5, with criteria including deficits in social-emotional reciprocity, nonverbal communicative behaviors, and developing, maintaining, and understanding relationships.

  • Other types of neurodivergence, such as ADHD, are also included in the DSM-5 as neurodevelopmental disorders.

  • Overall, the DSM-5 recognizes neurodiversity as encompassing various neurological differences and disorders that impact brain function and development.

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Neurodivergent, sometimes abbreviated as ND, means having a mind that functions in ways which diverge significantly from the dominant societal standards of “normal.” Neurodivergent is quite a broad term. Neurodivergence (the state of being neurodivergent) can be largely or entirely genetic and innate, or it can be largely or entirely produced by brain-altering experience, or some combination of the two. Autism and dyslexia are examples of innate forms of neurodivergence, while alterations in brain functioning caused by such things as trauma, long-term meditation practice, or heavy usage of psychedelic drugs are examples of forms of neurodivergence produced through experience. A person whose neurocognitive functioning diverges from dominant societal norms in multiple ways – for instance, a person who is Autistic, dyslexic, and epileptic – can be described as multiply neurodivergent.

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