By Robert Chapman — 2019
Can neurodiversity proponents keep the notion of mental pathology?
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We’ve been taught to refer to people with disabilities using person-first language, but that might be doing more harm than good.
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The ongoing dialogue I have with my own perspective and emotions is the biggest job I’ve ever undertaken. Exploring this internal give-and-take forces me to grow in surprising ways.
Often, disabled people have their disability treated, but they don’t have their emotional or spiritual needs addressed.
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Depression and suicidal ideation are more likely among people with disabilities due to factors like abuse, isolation, and stressors related to poverty, among others.
Adults with disabilities report experiencing frequent mental distress almost 5 times as often as adults without disabilities.
Ableism centers around the notion that people with disabilities are imperfect and need fixing.
It remains controversial—but it doesn’t have to be. We need to embrace both the neurodiversity model and the medical model to fully understand autism.
Filmmaker Evan Mead, who has Asperger’s, exposes struggles with dating and intimacy for people on the autism spectrum and runs events featuring speed dating and exploring facial expressions.
Just because you value neurological differences doesn’t mean you’re denying the reality of disabilities. This piece is in response to another Scientific American article by Simon Baron-Cohen.
Netflix and the BBC will work together, in an unprecedented move, to promote disabled creatives on and off screen.