Conventionally understood as the state of being physically and/or mentally different from some assumed ‘norm’ of human corporeal and/or psychological functioning, [disability] applies to people with an impairment that supposedly limits their ability to perform activities in the manner taken as ‘normal’ for a human being. Disability is often framed negatively, couched as ‘loss’ (e.g. of a limb or vision) or ‘lack’ (e.g. of mobility or reasoning skills), with scant attention paid to the experiences and aspirations of the people affected.
Proponents of neurodiversity use this term to refer to natural differences in the ways people experience and express their psychological worlds. Most obviously, they refer to neurological differences usually labeled as conditions or disabilities (autism, ADHD, psychosis, depression, bipolar disorder, learning disabilities). Some also use the term to describe more subtle differences such as how individuals experience pleasure or suffering in their daily lives (e.g., pleasure from music or art; sensitivity to loud noises or bright lights).
To participants in the neurodiversity movement, which some see as akin to the civil rights movement, sensitivity to neurodiversity is about having respect for and displaying living kindness towards all people regardless of their unique neurological dispositions. This is a positive, respectful stance, some believe, because it focuses not on the problems faced by (or presented by) those who are "wired differently" but on the benefits to society of the sometimes useful and even admirable abilities often found in people with ways of thinking that have been unduly "pathologized" by society. Each so-called disease, say these advocates, has corresponding strengths which have been largely ignored, such as deep focus and meticulous care in people with autism, quick thinking in novel situations in people with ADHD, and creativity in people with schizophrenia or bipolar disorder. These attributes have been downplayed in the past, say proponents, because "neurotypicals" are burdened with "ableism," a bias based on majority privileges that is comparable to racism.
Neurodiversity. (2019). In AllSides (Ed.), Allsides Red Blue Dictionary. AllSides LLC.
Most print books are located in Owen Library's General Collection unless noted differently. Some print titles also may be accessible as an ebook using the link provided and some ebooks may have print copies at other Pitt libraries that can be requested through PittCat, our online catalog. Non-Pitt affiliated individuals are welcome to use the library's resources in-house. If you have trouble locating a book, please stop by our Information Desk on the 1st floor for assistance.
For a complete list of available databases, please visit the ULS' A-Z databases page. Non-Pitt affiliated individuals are welcome to use these resources in-house with a guest log-in. Please stop by our Information Desk on the 1st floor for assistance.
This select list includes articles available freely online and through the library's databases.
Pitt-affiliated individuals may borrow DVDs for a 2-week loan period. *For further information about these films and other films that portray individuals with disabilities, please refer to the film database from Vanderbilt University’s Iris Center listed above.
For the TED Talks videos below, you may be provided a list of more resources on the speaker's topic by hovering over the video and clicking on the TED logo.