Intersectionality in Neurodiversity Studies

 I have started reading the book, The Secret Life of a Black Aspie by Anand Prahlad, in addition to, Feminist, Queer, Crip by Alison Kafer, and it is making me more aware of all of the various intersections that must be explored in Neurodiversity and Disability Studies.

My own intersections deal with being a Multiply Neurodivergent, Non-binary, Queer, gender nonconforming, Demi/Omnisexual, multi-religious, Disabled person, but I know that there are many other intersections to explore rather than merely gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation, able-bodiedness/able-mindedness, and religious affiliation, such as race, ethnicity, body type, and different forms of (dis)ability, among many other identifiers of who we are as people.

I would like to remain as inclusive as possible moving forward, although my main point of reference will be Queer Neurodivergence, as that is what I am familiar with. I acknowledge my white and thin privilege in all of this, despite struggling with an eating disorder, which can kind of blur boundaries. I have not had much input from other Neurodivergent or otherwise Disabled people, but I invite anyone, especially Queer Disabled people to engage with my entries and start a conversation, so I can know what I need to improve upon.

I know this blog has not been around long, but I hope that others discover it and it makes its way around the internet, as this is my primary mode of Disability Advocacy, including self-advocacy, and Activism at this point in my life. I try to make an update everyday, and I hope the readers I acquire stay engaged. Some of this work may later be published as a book of short essays as it evolves. The future of Neurodiversity and Disability Studies is now, and we need to consider these texts if we want to be good psychologists and sociologists as well. There is a dire need for the study of Autie-ethnographies and various other sources of Disability Studies in the social sciences, despite the qualitative nature of much of it. We focus so much on quantitative measure, that we miss out on a lot. I think we also need to reconsider the medical model of disability in clinical psychology and look towards both the social model and the political/relational model to help inform us further. In my opinion, we need to make the social sciences more multidisciplinary, instead of focusing strictly on social science "by the book." Some of this can be done with a combination of psychology and sociology, as I have chosen to get a bachelor's degree in, but it's not nearly enough, and we need to explore more options than simply relying on clinical presentations of Disability. It must enter the social and political sphere for us to gain traction.