From Puzzle to Progress: How Engaging With Neurodiversity Can Improve Cognitive Science

This publication is included in the Autistic Autism Scholarship Project. three authors of this publication are identified as autistic in the project.

About the autistic author marker

Manalili, M., Pearson, A., Sulik, J., Creechan, L., Elsherif, M. M., Murkumbi, I., Azevedo, F., Bonnen, K., Kim, J., Körding, K. P., Lee, J. J., Obscura, M., Kapp, S. K., Röer, J. P., & Morstead, T. (2023). From Puzzle to Progress: How Engaging With Neurodiversity Can Improve Cognitive Science. Cognitive Science, 47(2), e13255-e13255. https://doi.org/10.1111/cogs.13255

Journal or book title
Cognitive Science
Publisher
Wiley
Volume
47
Issue
2
Pages
e13255-e13255
Article number
e13255
Publication date: 1 Feb 2023 Added to AutiHub: 6 Jul 2026 Type: Article Article language: English

This publication is integrated into AutiHub through:

Authors

Publication authors
15
Publication authors identified as autistic
3 / 15 (20.0%)

Abstract

In cognitive science, there is a tacit norm that phenomena such as cultural variation or synaesthesia are worthy examples of cognitive diversity that contribute to a better understanding of cognition, but that other forms of cognitive diversity (e.g., autism, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder/ADHD, and dyslexia) are primarily interesting only as examples of deficit, dysfunction, or impairment. This status quo is dehumanizing and holds back much-needed research. In contrast, the neurodiversity paradigm argues that such experiences are not necessarily deficits but rather are natural reflections of biodiversity. Here, we propose that neurodiversity is an important topic for future research in cognitive science. We discuss why cognitive science has thus far failed to engage with neurodiversity, why this gap presents both ethical and scientific challenges for the field, and, crucially, why cognitive science will produce better theories of human cognition if the field engages with neurodiversity in the same way that it values other forms of cognitive diversity. Doing so will not only empower marginalized researchers but will also present an opportunity for cognitive science to benefit from the unique contributions of neurodivergent researchers and communities.

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 17:07.

Cited references
83
With a DOI
71
Without a DOI, from raw bibliography text
12
20 / 83 (24.1%) cited references include at least one author identified as autistic.
References with data to complete
6 / 83 (7.2%)
References with detected author names
77 / 83 (92.8%)
Without detected author names
6
Without a structured title
6
Without a stable identifier
9
References with raw author names still to review
3
References with external metadata lookup issues
2
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
228
From DOI or external metadata
228
From validated raw bibliography text
0
Raw names already validated
0
Raw names still to review
8
90 / 228 (39.5%) names are linked to an author already present in AutiHub. 138 / 228 (60.5%) names are not yet linked.
Names linked to a person identified as autistic
35 / 228 (15.4%)
Calculated across all author names detected in the cited bibliography. Among names linked to an author already present in AutiHub: 35 / 90 (38.9%). Distinct people identified as autistic: 23 / 207 (11.1%).
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