Judy Singer | |
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| Born | |
| Alma mater | University of Technology Sydney |
| School | Disability studies |
Notable ideas | Neurodiversity |
| Neurodiversity paradigm |
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Judy Singer is an Australian sociologist, known for coining the term "neurodiversity". [1]
Judy Singer | |
|---|---|
| | |
| Born | |
| Alma mater | University of Technology Sydney |
| School | Disability studies |
Notable ideas | Neurodiversity |
| Neurodiversity paradigm |
|---|
| |
Judy Singer is an Australian sociologist, known for coining the term "neurodiversity". [1]
Judy Singer, the daughter of a Jewish mother who survived World War II, grew up in Australia. For many years, she worked as a computer consultant and later became a single mother. She noticed traits in her daughter that resembled the social difficulties of her mother. Later, Singer's daughter was diagnosed with Asperger syndrome. [2] [3] Singer has also described herself as "likely somewhere on the autistic spectrum". [4]
Before the diagnosis, Singer began studying sociology at the University of Technology Sydney and delved into British and American disability studies. [5] [6] [ better source needed ] While following the virtual activism of autistic and other neurologically different people in the mid-1990s, particularly on the Independent Living Mailing List forum, she met journalist Harvey Blume. [7] Due to accreditation of the origin of the term "neurodiversity" to Singer by Steve Silberman in his book NeuroTribes, Singer is often credited with the creation of the term neurodiversity [1] to represent both the idea of neurological diversity and to think about the existence of a social movement of neurological minorities that would also include the autism rights movement. [8] [9] [10] However, this term first appeared in publication in a 1998 article by Harvey Blume, a year before Singer included it in a book chapter discussing the development of the concept of "neurological diversity" online. In this chapter, Singer did not claim to have created the term, and only used it in passing. [1]
In Australia, Singer also created ASpar, a group to support families of autistic people. In 2016, she published the book Neurodiversity: The Birth of an Idea. [11]
Singer has distanced herself from the expansion of the term neurodiversity outside of her original focus on "high functioning" autism awareness when coining the term, stating: “I was very clear in my thesis that I was only talking about Asperger’s." [12]
Asperger syndrome (AS), also known as Asperger's syndrome or Asperger's, was a diagnosis used to describe a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by significant difficulties in social interaction and nonverbal communication, along with restricted, repetitive patterns of behavior and interests. Asperger syndrome has been merged with other conditions into autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and is no longer a diagnosis in the WHO's ICD-11 or the APA's DSM-5-TR. It was considered milder than other diagnoses which were merged into ASD due to relatively unimpaired spoken language and intelligence.
Diagnoses of autism have become more frequent since the 1980s, which has led to various controversies about both the cause of autism and the nature of the diagnoses themselves. Whether autism has mainly a genetic or developmental cause, and the degree of coincidence between autism and intellectual disability, are all matters of current scientific controversy as well as inquiry. There is also more sociopolitical debate as to whether autism should be considered a disability on its own.
The neurodiversity paradigm is a framework for understanding human brain function that recognizes the diversity within sensory processing, motor abilities, social comfort, cognition, and focus as neurobiological differences. This diversity falls on a spectrum of neurocognitive differences. The neurodiversity paradigm argues that diversity in neurocognition is part of humanity and that some neurodivergences generally classified as disorders, such as autism, are differences and disabilities that are not necessarily pathological. Neurotypical individuals are those who fall within the average range of functioning and thinking.
The autism rights movement, also known as the autistic acceptance movement, is a social movement allied with the disability rights movement. It emphasizes the neurodiversity paradigm, viewing autism as a set of naturally occurring variations in human cognition, a disability with both strengths and weaknesses, rather than as a disease to be cured or a medical disorder. This paradigm contradicts and diverges from the medical model of disability, without opposing all aspects of it.
Autistic Pride Day is a pride celebration for autistic people held on 18 June each year. Autistic pride recognises the importance of pride for autistic people and its role in bringing about positive changes in the broader society.
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to autism:
Self-advocacy is the act of speaking up for oneself and one's interests. It is used as a name for civil rights movements and mutual aid networks for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. The term arose in the broader civil rights movements of the 1960s and 1970s, and is part of the disability rights movement. Today there are self-advocacy organizations across the world.
Manuel F. Casanova is the SmartState Endowed Chair in Childhood Neurotherapeutics and a professor of Biomedical Sciences at the University of South Carolina School of Medicine Greenville. He is a former Gottfried and Gisela Kolb Endowed Chair in Outpatient Psychiatry and a Professor of Anatomical Sciences and Neurobiology at the University of Louisville.
Societal and cultural aspects of autism or sociology of autism come into play with recognition of autism, approaches to its support services and therapies, and how autism affects the definition of personhood. The autistic community is divided primarily into two camps; the autism rights movement and the pathology paradigm. The pathology paradigm advocates for supporting research into therapies, treatments, and/or a cure to help minimize or remove autistic traits, seeing treatment as vital to help individuals with autism, while the neurodiversity movement believes autism should be seen as a different way of being and advocates against a cure and interventions that focus on normalization, seeing it as trying to exterminate autistic people and their individuality. Both are controversial in autism communities and advocacy which has led to significant infighting between these two camps. While the dominant paradigm is the pathology paradigm and is followed largely by autism research and scientific communities, the neurodiversity movement is highly popular among most autistic people, within autism advocacy, autism rights organizations, and related neurodiversity approaches have been rapidly growing and applied in the autism research field in the last few years.
Autism spectrum disorder (ASD), or simply autism, is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by repetitive, restricted, and inflexible patterns of behavior, interests, and activities; deficits in social communication and social interaction; and the presence of high or low sensory sensitivity. A formal diagnosis requires that symptoms cause significant impairment in multiple functional domains, in addition to being atypical or excessive for the person's age and sociocultural context.
Autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) or autism spectrum conditions (ASCs) describe a range of conditions classified as neurodevelopmental disorders in the DSM-5, used by the American Psychiatric Association. As with many neurodivergent people and conditions, the popular image of autistic people and autism itself is often based on inaccurate media representations. Additionally, media about autism may promote pseudoscience such as vaccine denial or facilitated communication.
Gunilla Gerland is a Swedish author and lecturer on the topic of autism. Her written works include Secrets to Success for Professionals in the Autism Field: An Insider's Guide to Understanding the Autism Spectrum, the Environment and Your Role and her autobiography A Real Person: Life on the Outside.
The history of autism spans over a century; autism has been subject to varying treatments, being pathologized or being viewed as a beneficial part of human neurodiversity. The understanding of autism has been shaped by cultural, scientific, and societal factors, and its perception and treatment change over time as scientific understanding of autism develops.
NeuroTribes: The Legacy of Autism and the Future of Neurodiversity is a book by Steve Silberman that discusses autism and neurodiversity from historic, scientific, and advocacy-based perspectives. Neurotribes was awarded the Samuel Johnson Prize in 2015, and has received wide acclaim from both the scientific and the popular press. It was named to a number of "best books of 2015" lists, including The New York Times Book Review and The Guardian.
Introvertendo, occasionally credited as Introvertendo - Autismo por Autistas, was a Brazilian podcast made between 2018 and 2023. With content about autism, it became notable for being the first podcast made by autistic people in Brazil.
Sophia Silva de Mendonça is a Brazilian author. Considered one of the main voices on autism in women in Brazil, Sophia wrote the young adult novel Danielle, Asperger (2016), the journalistic book Neurodivergentes (2019) and hosts the channel Mundo Autista on YouTube.
Kassiane A. Asasumasu is an American autism rights activist who is credited for coining several terms related to the Neurodiversity Movement, including neurodivergent, neurodivergence, and caregiver benevolence. As stated in the text Neurodiversity for Dummies, "Asasumasu's work set the stage for a broader understanding and acceptance of neurological differences", which "continue[s] to be shared, shaped and formed by all sorts of people who recogniz[e] that our world should be accepting, inclusive, and accommodating of people regardless of their neurotype".
Luke Beardon is an English academic in the field of autism studies. As of March 2024, he is a Senior Lecturer with The Autism Centre at Sheffield Hallam University, as well as a service coordinator with the National Autistic Society. He received a Doctor of Education degree from Sheffield Hallam University.
Robert Chapman is an English philosopher, teacher and writer, best known for their work on neurodiversity studies and the philosophy of disability. They are the first assistant professor of critical neurodiversity studies, and as of 2024, work at the Institute for Medical Humanities at Durham University.
Autistic supremacism, also referred to as Aspie supremacism, is an ideological school of thought followed within certain segments of the autism community, suggesting that individuals formerly diagnosed with Asperger syndrome possess superior traits compared to both neurotypical individuals and other autistic people. The ideology has been criticized by disability researchers and members of the autism community for perpetuating harmful hierarchies within the community and potentially reinforcing broader discriminatory attitudes.
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