There are words that, although they have a complex meaning and that is not easy to cover in a conversation, open a necessary debate. An example of this is the word “neurodiversity”, a word that even if it raises doubts, is fulfilling its function: leading us to ask ourselves if what we thought we knew about the human mind and behavior corresponds to reality and reflects in an objective way. the variety that is in it.
Taking this into account, Let’s see why the concept of neurodiversity is important and what it contributes But first, let’s stop at a brief definition.
Initially, the word neurodiversity was used to emphasize the diversity of experiences and forms of behavior present in what is today known as Autism Spectrum Disorders, and to see this phenomenon from a point of view removed from the study of psychopathologies since this was considered by many people as limiting or even stigmatizing.
However, over time, people began to talk about neurodiversity when discussing other neuropsychological disorders, such as dyslexia, dyscalculia, ADHD, etc. The objective was break down the social barriers that those who have received a diagnosis of this type often encounter and that they are difficulties that do not arise from their way of thinking or behaving, but from ignorance, prejudices about how these people live.
These are the different reasons why by talking about neurodiversity we are opening a public debate that provides useful resources and questions in our society.
1. Helps see human variability outside the frameworks of the disease
As I have mentioned, the concept of neurodiversity focuses on the fact that nature is diverse and what we consider today to be part of the scope of mental health problems, does not have to be.
In virtually all physical and psychological traits there is a wide variety; That is what, for example, biological evolution is based on, not repeating the same model of a living being over and over again for centuries or millennia. We should only consider that it is useful to interpret something as a health problem if there are very good reasons for it, and there are times when the simple fact of “fitting” into some diagnostic criteria is not a sufficient reason, depending on the context and the conditions. characteristics of each one.
2. It serves to question stigmatization dynamics
For a long time, it has been common for psychopathologies to be seen through stigma, and not only from a purely scientific lens. Therefore, when talking about neurodiversity, the person who stigmatizes is put in a position in which they must justify their behavior much more hostile or controlling of the emotions of people with certain diagnoses.
3. Helps consider cultural differences in neurodiverse people
Many times we forget the fact that cultural barriers can appear that produce misunderstandings in interactions between people with autism or dyslexia, for example, and other people For example, if someone diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder does not look into the eyes of whoever is speaking to him or her, this can be interpreted as a lack of respect or interest even though that way of seeing things does not really fit. with reality; However, another person with a diagnosis of autism may be more understanding in this sense because they understand that reality better. Furthermore, this type of misunderstanding can even contaminate scientific studies carried out on the subject, causing a lot of money, time and effort to be invested in scientific articles with a serious basic error.
4. Defines a concept that helps to organize collectively
Finally, the concept of neurodiversity is useful because it generates an open conversation in which it is easy for people with certain diagnoses to organize and decide to collectively defend their rights, compensating for being a minority through involvement in activism tasks and making their problems visible
Now, that does not mean that all the people who are involved in this type of claims defend the use of the word neurodiversity; It is true that this has been criticized for, among other things, giving too much importance to the role of the brain as the foundation of human behavior, and there are many other elements to consider. In any case, it is one more resource to break the frameworks of what is taken for granted and go beyond the limits of disease treatment.
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