Deficit, difference, or both? Autism and neurodiversity.
2012/04/30 by Steven K. Kapp, Kristen Gillespie-Lynch, Kristen Gillespie‐Lynch +2 · 70 citations
Neuroscience · Psychology · Social Sciences · #Autism Spectrum Disorder Research #Family and Disability Support Research #Child Development and Digital Technology
paper · doi:10.1037/a0028353
Abstract
The neurodiversity movement challenges the medical model's interest in causation and cure, celebrating autism as an inseparable aspect of identity. Using an online survey, we examined the perceived opposition between the medical model and the neurodiversity movement by assessing conceptions of autism and neurodiversity among people with different relations to autism. Participants (N = 657) included autistic people, relatives and friends of autistic people, and people with no specified relation to autism. Self-identification as autistic and neurodiversity awareness were associated with viewing autism as a positive identity that needs no cure, suggesting core differences between the medical model and the neurodiversity movement. Nevertheless, results suggested substantial overlap between these approaches to autism. Recognition of the negative aspects of autism and endorsement of parenting practices that celebrate and ameliorate but do not eliminate autism did not differ based on relation to autism or awareness of neurodiversity. These findings suggest a deficit-as-difference conception of autism wherein neurological conditions may represent equally valid pathways within human diversity. Potential areas of common ground in research and practice regarding autism are discussed.
Citations
Cited by
- Disabling AI: power, exclusion, and disability
- Diagnostic status influences rapport and communicative behaviours in dyadic interactions between autistic and non-autistic people
- Professionals’ perspectives on neurodiversity-affirmative autism diagnostic assessment
- Joint Attention in Human and Chimpanzee Infants in Varied Socio-Ecological Contexts
- Linguistic accommodation made by non-autistic speakers in response to being told the listener is autistic
- Who Tweets for the autistic community? A natural language processing–driven investigation
- Do Influential Articles on the Genetics of Autism Show Evidence of Engagement With the Autistic Community?
- Invisible Load: Uncovering the Challenges of Neurodivergent Women in Software Engineering
- Oxytocin in autism: Rethinking treatment and research through a neurodivergent perspective
- The neurodiversity movement vs. the medical model of autism
- ‘Let Us Be the Art, Not Just the Entertainment’: A Participatory Zine-Making Study Engaging Autistic Women and Non-Binary People in Discussing Media Representations of Autism
- The A3ReAcH (Autistic, ADHD and AuDHD research accessibility in healthcare) framework: Principles for inclusive healthcare research with autistic, ADHD and AuDHD individuals in radiography and medical radiation technology
- "Autism is me": an investigation of how autistic individuals make sense of autism and stigma
- Transitioning in and out of Autistic Flow: A Qualitative Study Presenting a Non‐Pathologising Approach to Autistic Well‐Being and Conceptualising Autistic Ways of Being in Clinical and Therapeutic Settings
- Toward an Emergent Paradigm for Neurodiversity and Health
- “Teaching the biology of neurodiversity for social change”
- The Association Between Autism Spectrum Traits and Age-Related Spatial Working Memory Decline: A Large-Scale Longitudinal Study
- A three‐factor model of educational practice considerations for teaching neurodiverse learners from a strengths‐based perspective
- Towards autistic flow theory: A non‐pathologising conceptual approach
- Neurodiversity at work: a biopsychosocial model and the impact on working adults
- Identifying as Autistic Without a Formal Diagnosis: Who Self-Identifies as Autistic and Why?
- Principles of Neurodiversity-Affirming Collaborative Assessment
- Involvement of Autistic Adults in the Participatory Design of Technology: A Scoping Review
- The Neurodiversity Approach(es): What Are They and What Do They Mean for Researchers?
- Community views of neurodiversity, models of disability and autism intervention: Mixed methods reveal shared goals and key tensions
- Digitally Constructing Marginalized Neurodivergence: Understanding South Asian Diasporic Autism and ADHD Communities on TikTok
- Preferences for identity-first versus person-first language in a US sample of autism stakeholders
- Person-first and identity-first language: A text-mining exploration of how geneticists discuss autism
- ‘A certain magic’ – autistic adults’ experiences of interacting with other autistic people and its relation to Quality of Life: A systematic review and thematic meta-synthesis
- The lived experience of mental disorders in adolescents: a bottom‐up review co‐designed, co‐conducted and co‐written by experts by experience and academics
- ‘ It's like calling short people vertically challenged’: Language and terminology preferences among neurodivergent adults in the United Kingdom
- Presence Without Belonging: A Conceptual Analysis of Loneliness in Autism
- “It Defines Who I Am” or “It’s Something I Have”: What Language Do [Autistic] Australian Adults [on the Autism Spectrum] Prefer?
- Academic, Activist, or Advocate? Angry, Entangled, and Emerging: A Critical Reflection on Autism Knowledge Production
- Universal Design and the Problem of “Post-Disability” Ideology
- ‘Autistic person’ or ‘person with autism’? Person-first language preference in Dutch adults with autism and parents
- ‘Who, When, How to Share’: Pilot study of a new disclosure decision-making programme for autistic adults
- Autism‐related language preferences of English ‐speaking individuals across the globe: A mixed methods investigation
- Avoiding Ableist Language: Suggestions for Autism Researchers
- Toward a neuroinclusive culture: designing neuroinclusivity with Triple Empathy Theory
- First impressions of adults with autism improve with diagnostic disclosure and increased autism knowledge of peers
- Neurodiversity‐Affirming Intersectional Approaches That Target Public Policy: Moving the Focus From Changing Individuals to Changing Systems of Power
- Preferences for Identity-First and Person-First Language: A Systematic Review of Research With Autistic Adults/Adults With Autism
- Divergent, Minority or Spicy? Neurodiversity Language Preference for Autistic, ADHD, Dyslexic, and Autistic+ADHD People
- What do philosophers talk about when they talk about autism?
- The Changing Epidemiology of Autism Spectrum Disorders. [europepmc]
- Whose Expertise Is It? Evidence for Autistic Adults as Critical Autism Experts. [europepmc]
- Experiences of Autism Acceptance and Mental Health in Autistic Adults. [europepmc]
- Neurodivergent intersubjectivity: Distinctive features of how autistic people create shared understanding. [europepmc]
- Prevalence of Autism Spectrum Disorder in a large Italian catchment area: a school-based population study within the ASDEU project. [europepmc]
- The contribution of environmental exposure to the etiology of autism spectrum disorder. [europepmc]
- Mapping the Autistic Advantage from the Accounts of Adults Diagnosed with Autism: A Qualitative Study. [europepmc]
- Guidelines for conducting research studies with the autism community. [europepmc]
- Work, living, and the pursuit of happiness: Vocational and psychosocial outcomes for young adults with autism. [europepmc]
- Neurodiversity at work: a biopsychosocial model and the impact on working adults. [europepmc]
- Neurotype-Matching, but Not Being Autistic, Influences Self and Observer Ratings of Interpersonal Rapport. [europepmc]
- Does Language Matter? Identity-First Versus Person-First Language Use in Autism Research: A Response to Vivanti. [europepmc]
- What Do New Findings About Social Interaction in Autistic Adults Mean for Neurodevelopmental Research? [europepmc]
- Neurodiversity and Autism Intervention: Reconciling Perspectives Through a Naturalistic Developmental Behavioral Intervention Framework. [europepmc]
- Academic, Activist, or Advocate? Angry, Entangled, and Emerging: A Critical Reflection on Autism Knowledge Production. [europepmc]
- Joint Hypermobility Links Neurodivergence to Dysautonomia and Pain. [europepmc]
- Autism-related language preferences of English-speaking individuals across the globe: A mixed methods investigation. [europepmc]
- "Autism research is in crisis": A mixed method study of researcher's constructions of autistic people and autism research. [europepmc]
- Setbacks and Successes: How Young Adults on the Autism Spectrum Seek Friendship. [europepmc]
- Avoiding Ableist Language: Suggestions for Autism Researchers. [europepmc]
- A Conceptual Analysis of Autistic Masking: Understanding the Narrative of Stigma and the Illusion of Choice. [europepmc]
- Loneliness in Adults on the Autism Spectrum. [europepmc]
- Understanding Stigma in Autism: A Narrative Review and Theoretical Model. [europepmc]
- Autism severity and its relationship to disability. [europepmc]
- The Autism Spectrum: Behavioral, Psychiatric and Genetic Associations. [europepmc]
Related