Hello, and welcome to Chair's Neurodiversity Toolkit!

This website serves to unify a bunch of information into one source which can be used to help inform people about the Neurodiversity movement and struggle.

This page is written from a marxist lens, so be aware of any bias towards marxism. Ideas of class struggle, dialectical materialism, the abolition of capitalism and scientific socialism will be present in an intersectional analysis of neurodivergency and the concept of neurological hegemony and disability/disorders. For anyone new to these terms, there is a glossary for key terms to the neurodiversity movement and associated ideologies.

What is Neurodiversity?

Neurodiversity means a lot of things to a lot of different people, however the most widely understood definition is a social movement based on philosophical and scientific examination of the concept of disability, disorders, and any neurological differences from the 'average' brain. Every part of the movement from the scientific to the social is important at once and must be understood together, as a key idea is that none of these are independent from each other.

Neurodiversity is a civil rights movement dedicated to the celebration of and the attainment of all support needs for those who are part of the total neurological diversity of humanity. The total neurological diversity of humanity includes Neurodivergents and Neurotypicals alike. We as a species are collectively neurodiverse.

Basic terminology:

Neurotype:

A Neurotype is merely an expression/term to describe the neurological state of an individual. This contains any and all, personality traits, disorders, disabilities, conditions, and etc. It is akin to a kind of neurological identity, like an ethnicity or creed. No neurotype is exactly the same, but when talking about them we categorise them into spectrums. Like the Autism Spectrum being one of the most well known neurotypes.

Neurotypical:

Neurotypical is the term to describe the hegemonic region of the neurological spectrum, this is made up of personality traits, and brain function which is not stigmatised, marginalised, oppressed, or pathologised, in a general sense of the word.

Neurodivergent:

Neurodivergent is the term to essentially describe the opposite of Neurotypical. It is the non-hegemonic of the neurological spectrum, this is made up of personality traits, disorders, conditions, disabilities, and other brain functions which are either oppressed, pathologised, or marginalised, in a general sense of the word. Neurodivergent isn't a disorder, disability, or politically correct term for such things, Neurodivergent is merely a category which has been created to group all of the non-hegemonic neurotypes into one concise and easy to use category.

Neurodiverse:

Neurodiversity itself is as said before, different things to different people, but the root word is Neurodiverse. This is tricky to understand, but a person cannot be neurodiverse, this is typically a bit of terminology which is often misused by activists and media but the distinction is important and necessary. Neurodiversity is about the celebration of the total neurological diversity of humanity. So in that regard, all neurodiverse is, is the spectrum of neurotypes themselves. Which means all of the neurotypes, - neurotypical and neurodivergent alike – which make up the neurodiverse spectrum.

Neurodivergence:

This term is essentially a blanket adjective for neurodivergent neurotypes. To use it in a sentence as an example, this is a way I would use it:

My neurodivergence gives me many challenges I must face on a daily basis, things would be far easier for me, if people just chose to educate themselves about neurodivergence and neurodiversity.

Another example might look like like:

The primary objective of Neurodiversity, is the liberation of all those with any form of neurodivergence; which includes the liberation from the oppressive rules and standards of neurotypical society. This hegemony deprives us of dignity, respect, support, accommodation, and the means of self-determination and subsistence. It is not just another letter of the progressive alphabet, it is about our basic and fundamental human rights which we have been deprived!

More basic information can be found in this video:

(Yeah, I haven't made it yet, please be patient, it isn't even in the works yet, but it is at least planned.)