The Neurodiversity Paradigm (Quick Read)

Part of the Topic Index: Clinical Practice

"Difference, not solely disorder" — sociology, not medicine, is where this framework actually started.

Judy Singer, an Australian sociologist, wrote "neurodiversity" into her 1998 honours thesis — modeled on biodiversity, grounded in her own family's experience across three generations of autistic women.

A 2024 historical review found Singer never claimed to coin the term herself. It traces back further to journalist Harvey Blume's 1997 writing, building on autistic activist Jim Sinclair's 1993 essay "Don't Mourn for Us." Genuinely collective, not one person's insight.

Disability located substantially in the mismatch between a person and an unaccommodating environment — the conceptual ancestor of camouflaging and the double empathy problem.

Singer has pushed back on extending "difference, not deficit" to erase real, significant support needs elsewhere on the spectrum. Good practice holds both: environments genuinely fail to accommodate difference, and some support needs are real regardless of accommodation.

Ask "what's the mismatch between this client and their environment" as a standing question — without assuming better accommodation alone resolves every difficulty.

For full sourcing and nuance, see the full-length article on this topic.

Well wishes. 🙏

Mx. Love C. Dialogos, LMFT · Buddhist Chaplain Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist | Buddhist Chaplain Pronouns: They/Them

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