Thanks Nicole for responding to the article. I think you have made assumptions because perhaps I was not clear in the article. I have no issue at all with how anyone self-defines themselves. If you find self-defining as disabled empowering or meaningful for yourself then that is fantastic.

What I was trying to say, but perhaps failed, was that no one should have the disabled label forced on them. No one should have to identify as disabled to get funding or support in education or any other arena of life. No one should be made to feel disabled by a label if they do not feel that way.

Personally I do not find the term disabled as a useful term in the context of neurodiversity because it has taken on a meaning, imposed by the ‘normal’, that goes beyond the way it should (IMHO) be used. If we are going to really integrate neurodiversity into our thinking then we have to get beyond labelling those outside of the ‘norm’ and start recognising that everyone has cognitive areas of strength and other areas of weakness. Every person is truly unique and different when you look at all the possible traits and their degree of individual expression.

And I fully agree with you about banishing “normal”.