Neurodivergent or neurodiverse? Inclusive language and neurodiversity.

The words we use at work are important. And when it comes to diversity, terminology can be a make-or-break issue: communicating respect or disrespect for individuals and communities, and shaping how inclusive or exclusive your workplace feels.

If you use language incorrectly, you risk alienating applicants and making employees feel like they don’t belong. Do it well and you will stimulate an environment that empowers and motivates everyone.

Of course, the evolving nature of language can make it difficult to know what is “right.” In some cases, the mass media, segments of peer-reviewed literature, and editorial guides fail to keep pace with culture building among marginalized communities and instead recommend outdated terminology. In other cases, organizations claiming to advocate on behalf of these communities speak over people with lived experience and insist on biased language. And even more confusion can arise when people adopt a new language but combine it with the assumptions of old paradigms.

What should a well-intentioned manager do when confronted with conflicting information?

A notable example of this is the language around neurodiversity. Is the applicant you are interviewing neurodivergent or neurodiverse? Or is it “with neurodiversity” (Please don’t do that.)

Okay, let’s get this straight.

The term neurodiversity, or neurological diversity, was born when early internet spaces and listservs of the 1990s made it possible Autistic culture building and reframing previously pathologized differences in psychological “wiring” as diversity rather than as a disorder. In the late 1990s the term was used in a academic dissertation by Judy Singer and a short one Atlantic article by Harvey Blume, who heralded its increasing use (and abuse). My extensive research on this subject is documented in my book, The Canary Code: A guide to neurodiversity, dignity and intersectional belonging at work. Let’s go to the application here.

Group-level terms: Neurodiversity and Neurodiversity.

Neurodiversity refers to limitless variation in human neurological development and function. These differences are not a bug, but a hallmark of humanity, which needs people who pay attention to details and people who focus on the big picture, people who think in words and people who think in images, people who can identify danger early sense and people who can face danger courageously.

Neurodiversity is a group-level characteristic. To convey understanding and appreciation for neurodiversity, you can use language such as: “Research shows the benefits of the neurodiversity of the groups on the creativity of the output” or “We value the neurodiversity of our staff.”

In other words: people are that as a group neurodiverse. “We strive to build neurodiverse teams” would be a properly stated (and worthy) goal.

Individual or subgroup terms: neurodivergent, neurotypical, or member of a neurominority group.

While neurobiological diversity is natural, societies form a shared perception of who is “just right” and who is “too serious,” “too restless,” “too fast,” “too slow,” “too quiet,” “too loud.” . or ‘too smart for their own good’. This neuronormative Cultural expectations vary across time and space – ancient Egypt, medieval Japan and the modern US present very different ideas of what is ‘normal’. Because ‘normal’ is quite arbitrary.

In industrial age Europe it was a ‘normal’ interest to classify and label everything; thus emerged medical labels and psychological classifications of human differences in thinking and emotion. These labels have powerfully shaped language and categorized the human experience as “normal” and “abnormal.” In some cases, the medical approach improved the treatment of those labeled as ‘other’. However, the same labels reinforced stigma and limited options and opportunities.

To explain how socially constructed expectations of neuronormativity translate into individuals’ experience, neurodivergent thought leaders developed the terms neurotypical, neurodivergent, and neurominority.

Neurotypical: A person or people whose neurobiology or functioning is seen as typical by prevailing cultural norms and who can conform to neuronormativity expectations with relative ease.

Neurodivergent: A person or people whose neurobiology or functioning differs from what is considered typical. Neurodivergence includes the whole personincluding cognitive differences such as thinking in words or thinking in images, emotional differences such as the intensity of emotional experiences and the ability to express them, physical coordination and social interaction. Although dyslexia or ADHD are often used as examples of neurodivergence, differences such as stuttering, tics and acquired neurodivergence due to trauma or psychological effects of Long Covid also reflect neurobiological variation. Differences that are typically considered positive (e.g., giftedness) also have a place under the broad umbrella of neurodivergence.

Because the term neurodivergent (coined by) is so comprehensive, Nick Walker proposed a more specific term, neurominorityto identify groups of people who share an innate type of neurodivergence that is inextricably linked to who they are and for which they face prejudice or discrimination (for example, autistic or dyslexic people).

Here are a few specific tips:

• Let’s say you want to communicate that your organization welcomes neurodivergent or neurominority applicants. You can say: “We welcome applications from neurodivergent candidates,” “We welcome members of neurominority communities” (best used as a subgroup level term), or “We are passionate about meeting the needs of neurodivergent people.”
• Or perhaps you want to ensure your HR systems are neuro-inclusive. An internal policy statement might read, “We support the needs of neurodivergent employees” or “Meeting organizers should facilitate input opportunities for both neurodivergent and neurotypical employees.”
• DON’T refer to individuals as “neurodiverse” – this is a collective term. For example, a team that includes dyslexic, autistic and neurotypical people is ‘neurodiverse’. But your senior account manager is “openly neurodivergent.” More generally, the term “diverse” applies when applied to individuals problematic; it can reflect othering and tokenism. Another problematic term is “with neurodiversity” – it is linguistically incorrect, different and communicates the assumption that neurodivergence is a disorder – the very antithesis of the neurodiversity approach.

Respecting individual preferences:

The previous advice relates to organizational communications, such as policy statements. Although there is one general agreement on preferred language within neurodivergent communities, individual preferences and word usage differ. For example, while “neurodivergent” is the generally accepted term to describe a range of neurobiological differences, some individuals may call themselves “neurodivers.” Likewise, most autistic adults prefer identity-first language; ‘autistic’ emphasizes that autism is an integral part of who we are. However, some individuals, like many parents, prefer the person’s first language and ‘with autism’.

The same nuances apply to ADHD. Although “ADHDer” is gaining popularity and reflects a sense of identity within the ADHD community, many still use the more traditional formulation “with ADHD.”

On an individual level, it is always best to ask people directly how they would like to be identified. Respectful communication means giving people space to define themselves in a way that feels most authentic.

Language changes. Ask, learn, repeat.

Language is a tool to shape work culture. If you want to create a neuro-inclusive environment, use neurodivergent helps accurately convey respect.

Yet the language of neurodiversity is still evolving. Don’t be afraid to make a mistake, apologize and learn from it. Opinions differ. Times change. The language that was once so appropriate may become outdated; even Blume’s 1998 Atlantic article, which popularized the word neurodiversity, contains language that many now find offensive (“high-functioning”). The use of a ‘wrong’ word is unintentional. Ask, learn, repeat. Don’t completely exclude community while searching for the “right” words. Welcome and ask community members how they prefer to identify themselves.