Neurodiversity‐Affirming Intersectional Approaches That Target Public Policy: Moving the Focus From Changing Individuals to Changing Systems of Power

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Botha, M., Gillespie-Lynch, K., Onaiwu, M. G., Jones, D. R., Kim, S. Y., & Obeid, R. (2025). Neurodiversity‐Affirming Intersectional Approaches That Target Public Policy: Moving the Focus From Changing Individuals to Changing Systems of Power. Journal of Social Issues, 81(4). https://doi.org/10.1111/josi.70042

Publication date: 31 Oct 2025 Added to AutiHub: 5 Jul 2026 Type: Article Article language: English
Publisher source (DOI) Full text OpenAlex source

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Authors

Publication authors
6
Publication authors identified as autistic
2 / 6 (33.3%)
  1. Monique Botha *
  2. Kristen Gillespie-Lynch
  3. Morénike Giwa Onaiwu *
  1. Desiree R Jones
  2. So Yoon Kim
  3. Rita Obeid

Abstract

ABSTRACT The neurodiversity movement challenges traditional deficit‐oriented models of autism. However, inclusion efforts often prioritize individual attitudinal change over structural reform (e.g., policies and research practices) or exclude Autistic people with intersecting marginalized identities. Just research requires scientific inquiry to challenge the oppressive systems from which it emerges, and can sometimes reinforce, by directly addressing interlocking structures of power. Otherwise, research can fail to serve, and even perpetuate harm against, the most marginalized Neurodivergent people, including those with intellectual disabilities, nonspeaking individuals, and racial, ethnic, and gender minorities who remain underrepresented in broader research and policy generation. This special issue, Using Neurodiversity‐Affirming Intersectional Approaches to Build More Equitable Societies and Shape Public Policy, therefore, seeks to challenge the systems of inequality dominant in autism research by uniting neurodiversity and intersectional frameworks with a focus on policy recommendations. In this introductory article to our special issue, we share the strategies we used to improve representation in our special issue and an overview of the papers in the special issue. We, the guest editors of the special issue, intentionally used our networks to seek contributions from scholars, advocates, and communities traditionally excluded from academic publishing, such as nonspeaking people and those from the Global South. This resulted in a special issue organized into three thematic sections: grounding neurodiversity in intersectionality to improve policy, addressing underrepresentation in research, advocacy, and publishing, and promoting systems‐level and grassroots approaches to wellbeing. Across contributions, authors offer empirical and/or theoretical insights with actionable policy recommendations and demonstrate a range of approaches such as community‐led methods, Open Scholarship practices, and decolonial and critical race frameworks that can shift power, improve measurement and access, and guide equitable resource allocation. Together, we call for a field‐wide pivot from changing individuals to transforming systems, so that justice, participation, and self‐determination are attainable for all neurominorities, especially those at multiply marginalized intersections.

Bibliography cited by this reference

Cited references are imported from external metadata sources when they are available. The list may be partial.

Cited bibliography overview

These indicators describe the bibliography cited by this publication. An author name is counted each time it appears in one cited reference, so the same person can be counted more than once. Names not yet linked to an author already present in AutiHub are treated as unknown, not as non-autistic. Last computed: 2 Oct 2026 13:58.

Cited references
61
With a DOI
40
Without a DOI, from raw bibliography text
21
19 / 61 (31.1%) cited references include at least one author identified as autistic.
References with data to complete
12 / 61 (19.7%)
References with detected author names
49 / 61 (80.3%)
Without detected author names
12
Without a structured title
12
Without a stable identifier
21
References with raw author names still to review
11
References with external metadata lookup issues
1
These indicators apply to cited references displayed on this page, after technical duplicates have been merged. A reference without a DOI can still support author statistics when a title and author names are available.
Author names detected in the cited bibliography
134
From DOI or external metadata
134
From validated raw bibliography text
0
Raw names already validated
0
Raw names still to review
11
94 / 134 (70.1%) names are linked to an author already present in AutiHub. 40 / 134 (29.9%) names are not yet linked.
Names linked to a person identified as autistic
42 / 134 (31.3%)
Calculated across all author names detected in the cited bibliography. Among names linked to an author already present in AutiHub: 42 / 94 (44.7%). Distinct people identified as autistic: 32 / 119 (26.9%).
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