On Neurodiversity

By Melody Moezzi







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Neurodiversity was a new term to me until fairly recently. Upon first hearing it, however, I immediately wished I’d heard it sooner. I mean, what a beautiful word, right? It takes a lot for a word to impress me. It has to say and sound like what it means or not at all (there’s no middle ground for me); it has to be relatively easy to pronounce, and it has to make you want to sing, not speak, it. So it’s rare for me to fall in love with a word at first sight. Still, “neurodiversity” passed the test with flying colors. The term itself appears to have been born in 1998, right alongside the tech boom, in a piece by Harvey Blume published in The Atlantic, “Neurodiversity: On the Neurological Underpinnings of Geekdom.” In the article, Blume writes: “Neurodiversity may be every bit as crucial for the human race as biodiversity is for life in general. Who can say what form of wiring will prove best at any given moment?” Can I get an amen?

Since the late 1990’s, the concept of neurodiversity has expanded to include not only people who fall somewhere along the autism spectrum, but also people with other brain “disorders,” such as bipolar disorder, dyslexia, Tourette syndrome, schizophrenia and ADHD. Certainly such “neurodiversity” has its drawbacks, but I, for one, wouldn’t want to be “neurotypical.” I know that not everyone with a mental illness shares my sentiments, and I admit that I am grateful for the medications that highly limit the extent to which my bipolar disorder disrupts my daily life. Still, to lose said “disorder” completely would devastate me in many ways, and I expect I’m not the only one who feels this way. What’s your take? Let us know by leaving a comment below!