Shaping autism self-advocates’ identities through the neurodiversity movement

Abstract

This thesis examines how and why the neurodiversity paradigm and movement influence autistic people’s identities as they participate in autism self-advocacy activity. The neurodiversity paradigm dictates that autism and other neurodevelopmental conditions are the result of neurodiversity, or the natural variations of human brain development. In turn, the neurodiversity movement aligns with the social model of disability, stating that autistic people are not directly disabled by their neurological differences, but rather by the general lack of accommodations provided by their society. By participating in self-advocacy groups, autistic people can thus view their autism as something that makes them unique rather than something that is inherently wrong. This thesis will thereby examine how continual involvement in autism self-advocacy activity allows autistic people to negotiate and practice their neurodivergent identities as a way of resisting stigmatizing views of autism that still prevail among society.