What Is Neurodiversity — And Why It Changes Everything

The word "neurodiversity" was coined in 1998 by Australian sociologist Judy Singer, who is autistic herself. In the two and a half decades since, it has gone from an academic concept to a movement — and it has changed the way millions of families, clinicians, and educators think about autism.

But the word gets used loosely. Here is what it actually means, and why the framework underneath it matters enormously for how we treat autistic children.

The basic idea

Neurodiversity is the observation that human brains vary. Not just in terms of personality or learning style — but in fundamental neurological architecture. Some brains are neurotypical. Some are autistic. Some are ADHD. Some are dyslexic. Some are a combination of several things at once.

The neurodiversity framework argues that this variation is natural, not pathological. That autism is not a disease or defect, but a different way of processing and experiencing the world. That neurotypical is not the correct way to be human — it is one way.

Why this framework matters for autistic children

If you start from the deficit model — autism as disorder — the goal of every intervention is to make the autistic child as neurotypical as possible. Sit still. Make eye contact. Suppress the stims. Use the right tone of voice. Stop the meltdowns. The goal, explicitly or implicitly, is to make autism invisible.

This goal has a cost. Autistic people who have spent their childhoods performing neurotypicality describe the experience as exhausting, identity-erasing, and in many cases traumatic. When your natural way of being is treated as a problem to be fixed every day of your life, it does not leave you intact.

If you start from the neurodiversity framework, the goal shifts. The question is no longer "how do we fix this child?" but "how do we build an environment where this child can thrive as they are?" That question leads to different answers — sensory accommodations, communication flexibility, acceptance of stimming, focus on the child's strengths rather than their deficits.

What neurodiversity is not

Neurodiversity does not mean autism is easy. It does not mean autistic children and adults do not face real challenges. Many autistic people have significant support needs. Many experience pain, difficulty, and barriers that are real and serious.

The neurodiversity framework does not minimize those challenges. It argues that many of them are the result of a world designed around neurotypicality — and that the solution is not to normalize autistic people, but to build more accessible and accommodating systems.

The practical upshot

A neurodiversity framework in practice means: ask what the autistic person needs, not what behaviors we need to eliminate. Build the environment around the person rather than demanding the person fit the environment. Measure success by the autistic person's wellbeing, not their conformity to neurotypical norms.

That is a different way of building schools, families, workplaces, and communities. It is the way WeBearish is trying to build.