On the Misuses of Neurodiversity: Critical Approaches and Counter-Narratives

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Acevedo, S. M. & Stolz, S. (2024). On the Misuses of Neurodiversity: Critical Approaches and Counter-Narratives. Autism in Adulthood, 8(3), 267-274. https://doi.org/10.1089/aut.2024.0016

Publication date: 5 Dec 2024 Added to AutiHub: 4 Jul 2026 Type: Article Article language: English
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Authors

Publication authors
2
Publication authors identified as autistic
1 / 2 (50.0%)
  1. Sara M. Acevedo *
  2. Suzanne Stolz

Abstract

The concept of neurodiversity has gained wide recognition in mainstream society within the past two decades. As it is now increasingly used in education and clinical settings, its original meaning, which comes from grassroots neurodivergent activism, has been skewed. While initially coined to reclaim the cultural and political dimensions of the neurodivergent experience, moving away from pathologization and deficit-based narratives found in widely used clinical texts like the DSM-V, so-called experts have co-opted the term. These medicalizing discourses and regulatory practices stem from the ideology of White supremacy, the settler colonial structure, and a capitalist system that bolsters the productive, neoliberal citizen archetype. Neurodivergent peoples’ bodyminds disrupt this archetype and what it represents in terms of medicalizing discourses that separate ideal citizens from deficient ones. Feeling threatened, professionals—who reinforce this power relation by administering treatment and intervention—adopt harmful strategies, including separating neurodivergence from disability, to reclaim and legitimize their expertise. Our work examines how the concept of neurodiversity is used to mobilize these strategies and how they impact neurodivergent people seeking affirming care, resources, and community. Drawing from social media and other online resources, we use testimonios and storytelling to analyze the for-profit misappropriation and rebranding of neurodivergent liberatory practices. We then juxtapose these with examples of neurodivergent counter-narratives to illustrate creative forms of resilience. To close, we offer recommendations to professionals who intend to address and re-orient these practices toward harm reduction and, eventually, to support collective liberation.

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Cited references
38
Total cited references integrated for this publication.
Cited references with an identified autistic author
5 / 38 (13.2%)
Cited author occurrences identified as autistic
11 / 38 (28.9%)
Among occurrences linked to AutiHub author records: 11 / 14 (78.6%). Distinct cited authors identified as autistic: 9 / 36 (25.0%).
Cited author occurrences linked to AutiHub author records
14 / 38 (36.8%)
Distinct linked cited authors: 12 / 36 (33.3%)
Linked cited-author occurrences not identified as autistic
3 / 14 (21.4%)
Among linked cited-author occurrences only. Across all cited-author occurrences: 3 / 38 (7.9%). Distinct linked cited authors not identified as autistic: 3 / 12 (25.0%).
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