Neurodiversity and Society
Neurodiversity is the biological essentialist claim that there is limitless neuro-cognitive diversity among human minds and consideration should be given to this diversity when structuring society and considering the future of the human race. The Neurodiversity Movement is responsible for prosecuting the idea that there is benefit in terms of human rights and social outcomes if we recognise and accommodate neurodiversity.
Neurodiversity meets Capitalism.
A common popular trope is that neurodivergent individuals are an untapped source of human capital. Whether factual or not this moves away from the original intent of the Movement.
Special initiatives that claim to ‘unlock the potential’ of neurodivergent individuals need critical viewing through a lens that examines capitalism. The ‘productive citizen’ is a capitalist measurement of worth in relation to the economic value of an individual.
When people are valued for their untapped potential in terms of productivity we lose site of the fact that human rights are about human being not human doing. Whether we function a certain way within an economy has no bearing on the rights we are due.
Movement of capital relies on corporatisation, marketisation and monetisation. Capitalism overtly employs popular tropes like unlocking the potential of neurodiversity to further its own means. In many cases this is akin to the Green Washing of the corporate world. Whether its Green Washing or Neurodiversity Washing each offering has to be examined for its intent. Additionally, the level of responsibility each corporate actor takes for changing their practices to support diversity must be interrogated.
Neurodiversity Celebration Week
What I have seen as a result of Neurodiversity Celebration Week 2023 is a lot of Neurodiversity Washing and corporate virtue signalling that lacks a fundamental understanding of neurodiversity and any substantive action on furthering human rights.
Many of these poorly thought out initiatives lack attention to human diversity as a whole. These campaigns are silent on race, gender, sexuality, class, and disability. Too often, the faces of Neurodiversity hiring strategies are white able bodied males who have already had the privilege of access to post secondary education.
Human Rights
Human endeavour and efforts such as social planning should attend to neurodiversity so that all neurotypes have equal access to human rights. A good measure of successful human rights implementation is access to education and employment, allowing for economic participation as a means to improve quality of life.
To understand human rights and oppression we need to understand the history of rights movements.
Please research:
The Civil Rights Movement
The Women’s Rights Movement
The Disability Rights Movement
The Gay Rights Movement
The Indigenous Rights Movement
The Autistic Rights Movement
The Self Advocacy Movement
The Neurodiversity Movement is a rights movement, therefore, is intrinsically linked to all rights movements and opposed to all forms of oppression.
Neurodiversity Washing and icing corporate cakes with neurodiversity symbols are facile and often misleading attempts to engage in what needs to be a more meaningful change in corporate social responsibility.
