What are your thoughts on the neurodiversity movement?

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I personally support the neurodiversity movement because it claims that autistic beings are a minority that should be integrated into society rather than given substandard treatment. For neurotypical people, it is probably considered a form of insubordination if we act out when we are being told not to . I might become a neurodiversity advocate when I become older. Anybody who disproves the neurodiversity movement and claims it to be wrong might be wrong themselves. Being autistic myself and struggling with the neurotypical society's strict expectations, I would love to become a neurodiversity advocate later in life.

I apologize for the long post!

Your post wasn't long. I'm going to write a longer post.

I agree that autistics deserve respect and acceptance — everybody deserves that.

As I understand it, neurodiversity says that autistics are just variations of normal, like eye colour or handedness. And all their challanges are due to having to be in an NT society.

However, I find it hard to think of autism as "just variations of normal" when it comes to a severely autistic person who can't do anything for himself/herself, and will basically die if not looked after. THAT isn't about living in the wrong society. That is about not being able to meet your survival needs. A "variation of normal" shouldn't impair your ability to look after yourself.

Let's look at lefthandedness. Supposing he/she was never punished and traumatised for lefthandedness, if a 100% left hander was left alone, he/she will be able to meet survival needs. It may be awkward to use right-hand oriented things, but they can survive in the world. Even a "severely lefthanded" person can survive and function independently. THAT case is just a variation of normal.

I think the neurodiversity movement has good intentions, but was created with high-functioning autistics in mind. Autism is a disorder. It may be an abnormality, but substandard treatment is not acceptable for anyone. Autistics deserve respect and acceptance, just like everyone else.

That is what I think about the neurodiversity movement.

Does the neurodiversity movement really not include treatment for people with autism? I was always under the understanding that the movement was supportive of helping "lower functioning" (for lack of a better term) autistics find ways of coping and communication that work for them.

I can get behind treating people with mental illness as people, but saying it is just a variation of normal seems like it would make treatment harder.

My opinion on the neurodiversity movement is similar to my opinion on feminism, it's built on a good idea and a real problem but it's often taken way too far. More awareness would definitely be great but things like autism still fall well within the definition of a disability and we are a small enough portion of the population that it's hard to justify any major changes that only effect us.

I don't know a great deal about the movement but it doesn't really seem to bring lower functioning autistics into mind, as others have said. It's a nice idea and has good intentions, but the focus seems to benefit higher functioning autistics more? I may be wrong, but nothing really looks to account for how difficult some people with more severe cases of autism have it with just general aspects of life. It's hard to "normalize" autism when it's a disorder and a good amount of people with it would possibly die on their own and require treatment to lead productive, happy lives.

I think of this in a roundabout way. Homosexuality is wrong but what people who aren't autistic think it's to hard to live not liking and fighting a central part of yourself. Many people,including me, with Aspergers not only get that but don't have a choice to not fight it. So they disagree with it. What I'm getting at is people aren't lucky to be born with Asphergers. But we have to live with it. And all this "society must conform to us," bull, is just trying not to fight it and it's lazy. Once you accept you have to go against your nature and try to act normal. Things will go better for you, and everyone around you.