The Neurodiversity Movement and Possibilities for Thinking Subjectivity Beyond Normality

Year 2025, Volume: 8 Issue: 1, 105 - 121, 30.06.2025

Balkır Uysal

https://doi.org/10.51404/metazihin.1616102

Abstract

Neurodiversity emerged in the late 1990s within social movements that opposed the reduction of individuals’ neurological differences to forms of disorder, deficiency, or disease. It rapidly expanded to become an umbrella term. The concept also has a critical dimension that questions the meanings society assigns to normality and how these meanings shape individuals’ subjective experiences. Ableism is also an essential source of discrimination at the individual and societal level, as an ideology that idealizes physical, mental, and neurological functioning to conform to specific standards and excludes individuals who fall outside these standards. In this context, the neurodiversity movement aims to ensure that individuals' neurological differences are accepted equally in society by defending them as an identity and from a rights-based perspective against the exclusionary effects of ableism. On the other hand, while different forms of neurological functioning are combined under one umbrella term, there are debates that this extensive inclusivity fails to account for the experiences and needs of some individuals. In addition, attention is drawn to the instrumentalization and commodification of the movement's demand for social transformation by the economic system in the context of neoliberal policies. This study aims to shed light on the transformative power of neurodiversity as a social movement and its limitations based on various approaches while questioning the possibilities of thinking beyond the conception of subjectivity that social norms try to construct.

Keywords

neurodiversity , normality , ableism , subjectivity , social work

Nöroçeşitlilik Hareketi ve Normalliğin Ötesinde Öznelliği Düşünmenin İmkânları

Abstract

Nöroçeşitlilik, 1990’ların sonlarında bireylerin nörolojik farklılıklarının bozukluk, eksiklik ya da hastalık biçimlerine indirgenmesine karşı çıkan sosyal hareketlerin içinde doğmuş ve hızla genişleyerek bir şemsiye kavram hâline gelmiştir. Kavram, toplumun normalliğe yüklediği anlamları sorgulayarak, bunların bireylerin öznel deneyimlerini biçimlendirmesini de eleştiren bir yöne sahiptir. Bundan farklı olarak sağlamcılık ise fiziksel, zihinsel ve nörolojik işleyişin belirli standartlara uymasını idealize eden ve bu standartların dışında kalan bireyleri dışlayan bir ideoloji olarak bireysel ve toplumsal düzeyde ayrımcılığın önemli bir kaynağıdır. Bu bağlamda, nöroçeşitlilik hareketi, sağlamcılığın dışlayıcı etkilerine karşı, bireylerin nörolojik farklılıklarını bir kimlik olarak ve hak temelli bir perspektifle savunarak, bu farklılıkların toplumda eşit kabul görmesini hedefler. Öte yandan farklı nörolojik işleyiş biçimleri bir şemsiye kavram altında birleştirilirken, bu geniş kapsayıcılığın bazı bireylerin deneyimlerini ve ihtiyaçlarını hesaba katmadığına dair tartışmalar da söz konusudur. Ayrıca, neoliberal politikalar bağlamında hareketin toplumsal dönüşüm talebinin ekonomik sistem tarafından araçsallaştırılmasına ve metalaştırılmasına da değinilmektedir. Bu çalışma, toplumsal normların inşa etmeye çalıştığı öznellik tasavvurunun ötesinde düşünmenin imkânlarını sorgularken, nöroçeşitliliğin hem bir sosyal hareket olarak dönüştürücü gücüne hem de sınırlılıklarına çeşitli yaklaşımlar temelinde ışık tutmayı amaçlamaktadır.

Keywords

nöroçeşitlilik , normallik , sağlamcılık , öznellik , sosyal hizmet

References

• Aherne, D. (2023). The Pocket Guide to Neurodiversity. Jessica Kingsley Publishers.
• Armstrong, T. (2010). Neurodiversity: Discovering the Extraordinary Gifts of Autism, ADHD, Dyslexia, and Other Brain Differences. Da Capo Press.
• Bagatell, N. (2010). From Cure to Community: Transforming Notions of Autism. Ethos, 38(1): 33-55.
• Bertelli, M. O., De Groef, J. & Rondini, E. (2019). “Phenomenological psychopathology of neurodiversity.” G. Stanghellini, M. R. Broome, A. V. Fernandez, P. Fusar-Poli, A. Raballo, & R. Rosfort (Eds.), Oxford Handbook of Phenomenological Psychopathology içinde (pp. 1078–1108). Oxford University Press.
• Blume H. (2025, 01 Ocak). “Autism & the Internet’ or ‘It’s the Wiring, Stupid.” Media in Transition. https://web.mit.edu/comm-forum/legacy/papers/blume.html
• Blume, H. (2025, 1 Ocak). “Neurodiversity: On the Neurological Underpinnings of Geekdom.” The Atlantic. https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/1998/09/neurodiversity/305909
• Botha, M., Chapman, R., Giwa Onaiwu, M., Kapp, S. K., Stannard Ashley, A. & Walker, N. (2024). “The Neurodiversity Concept was Developed Collectively: An Overdue Correction on the Origins of Neurodiversity Theory.” Autism, 28(6): 1591-1594.
• Campbell, F. K. (2009). Contours of Ableism: The Production of Disability and Abledness. Palgrave Macmillan.
• Canguilhem, G. (2018). Normal ve Patolojik. Çev. Perge Akgün. İstanbul: Monokl Yayınları.
• Chapman, R. (2023). Empire of Normality: Neurodiversity and Capitalism. Pluto Press.
• Dalton, N. S. (2013). “Neurodiversity HCI.” Interactions, 20(2): 72-75.
• Davis, L. J. (1995). Enforcing Normalcy: Disability, Deafness, and the Body. Verso.
• Davis, L. J. (2013). The End of Normal: Identity in a Biocultural Era. University of Michigan Press.
• De Jaegher, H. (2013). “Embodiment and Sense-making in Autism.” Frontiers in Integrative Neuroscience, 26: 7-15.
• Dinishak, J. (2019). “Autism, Aspect-perception, and Neurodiversity.” Philosophical Psychology, 32(6): 876-899.
• Doyle, N. (2024). “Defining Neurodiversity and Identifying Neurominorities.” Neurodiversity and Work: Employment, Identity, and Support Networks for Neurominorities içinde (pp. 13-38). Cham: Springer Nature Switzerland.
• Evers, D. (2017). “Neurodiversity, Normality, and Theological Anthropology.” Philosophy, Theology and The Sciences, 4(2): 160-184.
• Foucault, M. (2019). Hapishanenin Doğuşu. Çev. Mehmet Ali Kılıçbay, 8. baskı, Ankara: İmge Yayınları.
• Francescotti, R. (2017). “Subjectivity.” Routledge Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Taylor and Francis.
• Goffman, E. (1963). Stigma: Notes on the Management of Spoiled Identity. Prentice-Hall.
• Goldberg, H. (2023). “Unraveling neurodiversity: Insights from neuroscientific perspectives.” Encyclopedia, 3(3): 972-980.
• Goodley, D. (2014). Dis/ability Studies: Theorising Disablism and Ableism. Routledge.
• Hacking, I. (2009). “How We Have Been Learning to Talk About Autism: A role for Stories.” Metaphilosophy, 40(3‐4): 499-516.
• Hens, K. (2021). Towards an Ethic of Autism: A Philosophical Exploration. Open Book Publishers.
• Huijg, D. D. (2020). “Neuronormativity in Theorising Agency: An argument for a Critical Neurodiversity Approach.” Bertilsdotter Rosqvist, H., Chown, N. & Stenning, A. (Der.), Neurodiversity Studies içinde (213-217). Routledge.
• Hurlburt, R. T., Happé, F. & Frith, U. (1994). “Sampling the Form of Inner Experience in Three Adults with Asperger Syndrome.” Psychological Medicine, 24(2): 385-395.
• Husserl, E. (1970). The Idea of Phenomenology. Translated by W. P. Alston & G. Nakhnikian. The hague, Martinus Nijhoff.
• Krcek, T. E. (2013). “Deconstructing Disability and Neurodiversity: Controversial Issues for Autism and Implications for Social Work.” Journal of Progressive Human Services, 24(1): 4-22.
• Leveto, J. A. (2018). “Toward a Sociology of Autism and Neurodiversity.” Sociology Compass, 12(12): 1-17.
• McGee, M. (2012). “Neurodiversity.” Contexts, 11(3): 12-13.
• Merleau-Ponty, M. (2012). Phenomenology of Perception. Routledge.
• Murdock, J. (2020). “Autism: A Function of Neurodiversity?” Journal of Human Services: Training, Research, and Practice, Vol. 5, Iss. 1, Article 5: 1-17.
• Muskat, B. (2017). “Celebrating Neurodiversity: An Often-overlooked Difference in Group Work.” Social Work with Groups, 40(1-2): 81-84.
• Müller, E., Schuler, A. & Yates, G. B. (2008). “Social Challenges and Supports from the Perspective of Individuals with Asperger Syndrome and Other Autism Spectrum Disabilities.” Autism, 12(2): 173-190.
• Nicolaidis, C. (2012). “What Can Physicians Learn From the Neurodiversity Movement?” Virtual Mentor, 14(6): 503-510.
• Oliver, M. (1990). The Politics of Disablement. Palgrave Macmillan.
• Orsini, M. (2012). “Autism, Neurodiversity and The Welfare State: The Challenges of Accommodating Neurological Difference.” Canadian Journal of Political Science/Revue canadienne de science politique, 45(4): 805-827.
• Ortega, F. (2009). “The Cerebral Subject and the Challenge of Neurodiversity.” BioSocieties, 4(4): 425-445.
• Robertson, A. E. & Simmons, D. R. (2015). “The Sensory Experiences of Adults with Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Qualitative Analysis.” Perception, 44(5): 569-586.
• Rose, N. (1988). “Calculable Minds and Manageable Individuals.” History of The Human Sciences, 1(2): 179-200.
• Runswick-Cole, K. (2014). “‘Us’ and ‘Them’: The Limits and Possibilities of a ‘Politics of Neurodiversity’ in Neoliberal Times.” Disability & Society, 29(7): 1117-1129.
• Singer, J. (2016). Neurodiversity: The Birth of an Idea. Amazon Kindle.
• Spina, M. (2012). “Norm and Normality, Starting from Merleau-Ponty.” Phenomenology and Mind, (3): 36-44.