What Does Neurodiversity Mean to You? Shared Meanings From a Neurodiverse Campus Community

• In Event: Virtual Poster Session
  In Virtual iPresentation Only: SIG-Special and Inclusive Education Research Virtual Poster Session

Abstract

Through the lens of a neurodiversity affirming paradigm, an IRB approved, nonexperimental survey was developed to gather meanings of neurodiversity from members of a neurodiverse university multi-campus community. Research questions included: What do meanings of neurodiversity reveal about a larger cultural understanding of neurodiversity? And what are the similarities and differences between meanings provided by neurodivergent and neurotypical campus community members? Responses (N = 627) were coded using a combination of deductive and inductive analysis. Initial findings are framed in relation to models of disability, including a medical view of neurodiversity as pathology; a social stigma view of neurodiversity in relation to social oppression; and a lens of neurodiversity affirming culture.

Authors

• Amy Accardo, Rowan University

• Kerry Cormier, Rowan University