The Neurodiversity Movement

Completion status: this resource is just getting off the ground. Please feel welcome to help!

Welcome to the Neurodiversity Movement learning resource! This is a project-under-construction aimed at teaching all interested parties about the history, aims, and viewpoints of the Neurodiversity Movement, a branch of the Disability Rights Movement. At the moment, very little of the course is completed. Any input and assistance in expanding this project is greatly appreciated.

This project is the brainchild of the user Luai_Lashire, who is an active participant in the Neurodiversity Movement.

Students participating in this learning project and users who wish to contribute should sign their names below in the segment labeled "Participants". We can all learn from each other. Feel free to make comments on the discussion page about anything you learn, here or elsewhere, about Neurodiversity, or to ask questions. It is our hope that the talk page can provide a medium for class discussion of the serious issues involved in this topic.

NEW The first section has been updated and now features more information on the subject of neurotypes, as well as a section for discussion. Please join in- part of the goal of this class is for students to learn from each other through discussion.

There is also a new place to go to report and discuss news articles that are related to the topics of this resource.

Course Goals

By the end of this course, students should have a thorough understanding of the aims and viewpoints espoused by the Neurodiversity movement, understand the concepts introduced by the movement, and have developed their own viewpoint of the issues faced by disabled persons. It is our further hope that by the end of this course, students will have the knowledge and desire to participate in activism.

Course Outline

Very little of the course is written yet, but here is the proposed outline:

Section 1: The Basics

1. What is a Neurotype?
2. The Base Precepts
   • Diversity of Neurology
   • Celebrate Us, Don’t Cure Us
   • Accommodation

Section 2: A History Of Abuse

1. Quack Cures And Their Dangers
2. Twisted Therapies
   • “It’s The Only Way”
   • The JRC (see this article)
3. Mercy Murders

Section 3: Controversies Within

1. Disability vs. “Way of life”
2. The Role of NTs
3. Separatism vs. Integration
   • Fantasies Of Escape: The Island, The Moon Colony, And More
   • The Benefits of Inclusion

Section 4: Causes And Cures

1. Introduction: The ‘Double Standard’ & Parents In Denial
2. The Mercury Theory
   • Andrew Wakefield’s Falsified ‘Science’
   • Chelation Therapy
   • The Autism Omnibus Hearings
3. The Genetic Evidence
4. Fears of a ‘Genocide’
5. The Role of "Charities"

Section 5: Labels and Language

1. Why language matters
2. Inaccuracies reinforce stigma
3. Presenting the positive

Section 6: History Of The Movement

1. The Disability Rights Movement
2. Branching Off
3. Aspies For Freedom Is Born
4. Spreading Awareness: Protests, Petitions, And Publicity

Section 7: Goals

1. Workplace Accommodation
2. Proper Education
3. Supports
4. Understanding and Acceptance

Other resources

There currently exist many resources to help you learn about Neurodiversity and the issues surrounding it, as well as communities where you can discuss the topic. Here are a few that will be mentioned in the course:

• Aspies For Freedom This organization is at the forefront of the Neurodiversity movement. Though it is currently down, they run an Autism Wiki with very detailed, Neurodiversity-conscious information. They also run a forum to discuss topics relevant to the movement and to autism.
• Neurodiversity.com is a links directory to web pages with relevant information.
• The Autism Hub is a group of pro-Neurodiversity blogs written by autistics and relatives of autistics. The hub bloggers are another of the big internet forerunners of the movement.
• School of Shock The article recently appearing in Mother Jones magazine that shone the spotlight on the abuses occurring at the Judge Rotenberg Center.
• It's Not A Disease An article that makes a good basic introduction to the ideas behind Neurodiversity.
• UMiNDS Course Archive All of the lectures from the University of Michigan's Disability Studies program are available here.
• Autistics.org: The Real Voice of Autism
• Not Autism Speaks is a website developed by an AFF member explaining why they do not support Autism Speaks.

Participants

Voyager640 01:42, 3 September 2007 (UTC)