Neurotypical, Neurodivergent, Neurodiversity — What’s the Difference?
Terminology to know and understand
I’ve been reading a lot about neurodivergence in the past few days and I’ve noticed that the words used make a huge difference to some people. When talking about neurodivergence, a lot of people have a lot of different ideas.
I myself want to understand and use the vocabulary of the topic of neurodivergence correctly. I found this article that explains it very well. So I’ll just summarize it for myself, for clarity. Maybe you’ll get something out of it too.
Neurodiversity: Some Basic Terms & Definitions
Neurodiversity is the diversity of human brains and minds — the infinite variation in neurocognitive functioning within our species. A group of people is neurodiverse if one or more members of the group differ substantially from other members, in terms of their neurocognitive functioning. Many people mistakenly use neurodiverse where the correct word would be neurodivergent.
In my own words — neurodiversity applies to every human being, it means that each person is unique and thinks differently from every other person.
The Neurodiversity Paradigm is a specific perspective on neurodiversity — it provides a…
