http://www.thinkingautismguide.com/2018/02/what-neurodiversity-movement-doesand.html
I, like the author of this post, have come across this tendency to misinterpret what exactly neurodiversity is.
In brief: Neurodiverse people (people whose brains developed differently) are still people. People, all people, deserve their rights, the presumption of competence, and the tools to make their lives the best they can be. If that requires accommodations, those should be made available. Neurodiverse lives may not look like neurotypical lives, and may involve disabilities that must be managed, but these lives are just as valid and matter just as much as neurotypical lives.
There is this tendency to assume a person is only a success if their life looks like a "normal" neurotypical life. Which is to say, "graduate high school, go to college, get a good job, date, marry, get a house, have kids, grow old, and finally die." Funnily enough, this proscribed path of life doesn't even fit neurotypical people, often. So why shoehorn people so markedly different from the norm into that path? If they want to pursue all that, let them. If not, maybe try to figure out what their personal ideal life would be like, taking into account their needs.
Am I more of a valid person because I graduated college, married a good man, and bought a house together? Am I less of a valid person because I probably won't ever have kids, suffer from depression and anxiety, and quite possibly will never hold another 40 hour a week job?
I, like the author of this post, have come across this tendency to misinterpret what exactly neurodiversity is.
In brief: Neurodiverse people (people whose brains developed differently) are still people. People, all people, deserve their rights, the presumption of competence, and the tools to make their lives the best they can be. If that requires accommodations, those should be made available. Neurodiverse lives may not look like neurotypical lives, and may involve disabilities that must be managed, but these lives are just as valid and matter just as much as neurotypical lives.
There is this tendency to assume a person is only a success if their life looks like a "normal" neurotypical life. Which is to say, "graduate high school, go to college, get a good job, date, marry, get a house, have kids, grow old, and finally die." Funnily enough, this proscribed path of life doesn't even fit neurotypical people, often. So why shoehorn people so markedly different from the norm into that path? If they want to pursue all that, let them. If not, maybe try to figure out what their personal ideal life would be like, taking into account their needs.
Am I more of a valid person because I graduated college, married a good man, and bought a house together? Am I less of a valid person because I probably won't ever have kids, suffer from depression and anxiety, and quite possibly will never hold another 40 hour a week job?
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