Many people, most of whom are neurotypicals, in the autism community oppose the concept of “neurodiversity.” They believe it is an erroneous notion made up by “higher functioning” autistics who do not have a complete understanding of what autism is. That is because most of those who advocate neurodiversity do not take the time to explain the root science of autism. The Autism Ambassadors Corps will present their case first by using root level science to explain our personal experiences, and then add the human rights and human dignity as lynch pins of our case.
Sue Golubock[1] first explained to me the root science of autism in a way that shows the plausibility of neurodiversity. The next paragraph is based on what Sue taught me. It is also what shared with Dr. David C. Hubbard, PhD P.L.C.[2] who confirmed that its accuracy. The two paragraphs that follows it is my own assessments of autism based on this basic understand, my personal experiences, the experiences that other autistics have shared with me and my own personal research into this subject.
The brain has billons of neural-receptors that are giving off signals at all times. We are not born with all of these receptors, but are continually growing more over the years which enable our brain to increase in its ability to function at higher levels. In the autistic brain, some parts of our brain are slower in the development of these receptors that a neurotypical brain does. As a result, these parts of the autistic’s brain are less active then the same parts of the brain of neurotypicals. However, other parts of our brains grow neural receptors faster. Therefore, the parts of our brain that have more receptors are more active than the same areas of the brain of a neurotypical.
So if you were to rate the activity levels of the brain on a 1-10 scale, a neurotypical might rate 4-6 straight across the board. The autistic brain on the other hand might rate 1-3 in some areas and 7-10 in others. When we are in a situation where our 1-3 come out, we are labeled handicapped. When we are in situation where our 7-10 come out, we are proclaimed geniuses. This leads me to a point that is most sensitive to us autistics, do we need to be “cured” or do we need to be cut some slack with our 1-3s and given more opportunity to utilize our 7-10s?
It is my firm conviction that my 140 IQ and my autism are interwoven into the fabric of who I am as a person. I believe that to “cure” me of my autism is to “cure” me of my 140 IQ. I must therefore ask; do you really want to “cure” me of my 140 IQ? This is why self advocating autistics who embrace neurodiversity, like me, are opposed to such efforts. Whether or not neurodiversity is a credible view of autism is a matter of debate. Autistics, parents, teachers, etc cannot make an informed decision about where they stand on this issue unless they have the opportunity to hear both sides.
The autistic neurological model also explains why we have neurological overloads. Manifestations of these include seizures, sensory integration issues, as well as increased difficulties in dealing with stress and emotions. This does not mean that we do not have emotion, but that highly emotional situation can overwhelm our ability to express them.
The scientific fact that our brains are constantly growing new neural-receptors, and the personal experiences of myself as well as other autistics, gives me reason to believe that some of the areas that autistics struggle with may self-correct to various degrees over time. In other words, just because we may be deficient in some areas of our brains early in our live does not mean that we will always be deficient.
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