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Apr 12 2024
Neuroqueer theory and what it is to be human

I understand now that boundaries between noise and sound are conventions. All boundaries are conventions, waiting to be transcended. One may transcend any convention if only one can first conceive of doing so.

David Mitchell, Cloud Atlas

The question of what it is to neuroqueer oneself is a question of the limits on humanity. What are the boundaries around what constitutes a human? Is there a limit to what a human can be?

Humanity and me

To be human is to be me. To be me is to understand the human experience through the bodymind I exist within. This experience constitutes my life. Therefore, to neuroqueer is to fundamentally alter my human Self. I am testing the conventions that we have been taught define a human. Any change to my neurocognitive style fundamentally alters my humanity. By neuroqueering we are creating new iterations of human life.

Ocean and Air

Buddhist Teacher Daisaku Ikeda suggests that we imagine life as a wave. It takes form within the ocean, follows it’s path, and eventually crashes into the shore before returning to the ocean. If the wave is a human life, the question that lies beneath my own journey through neuroqueer theory and practice is this:

How could one change their trajectory? Further to that, what if I wish to be air rather than water? Does the definition of what it is to be human restrain me in the ocean?

The boundary between air and liquid is a matter of the behaviour of it’s constituent atoms.

Atoms and Rhizomes

I have written in the past of the Autistic Rhizome. Our own mind can be thought of as rhizomatic. Each neuron connected to the others through intricate paths. Each experience and thought linked to the others. Each point like the atoms of the wave. My human life takes form.

Neuroqueering allows me to change the behaviour of that rhizomatic thought structure, moving freely between solid, liquid, gas. Earth, water, and air.

Undefining Humanity

If one can transcend the boundaries definition of what it means to be human, we are doing more than writing a new definition. We are undefining what it means to be human. Through intentional acts of subverting meaning and intention, we deconstruct the masters house of Walker’s (2021) Neuroqueer Heresies.

We deconstruct the boundaries around what it means to be human. Thus, neuroqueering is more than the changing of one’s neurology, or the alteration of one’s embodiment. It is embracing a reality within which the only boundaries, the only convention, on what it is to be human are the limits of one’s imagination.

Isn’t that a liberating thought?

References

Mitchell, D (2004) Cloud Atlas. Sceptre

Walker, N. (2021) Neuroqueer heresies : notes on the neurodiversity paradigm, autistic empowerment, and postnormal possibilities. Autonomous Press

David Gray-Hammond 0 Comments
Mar 29 2024
Destinations and maps: A reimagining of neurofuturism

Concepts around neurofuturism have so far been dominated by ideas around using AI and computer technology to enhance the human brain. I feel, however, that the neurodiversity movement is in a unique space to reclaim this term, using it to advance  the neurodiversity movement and consider the world we are working towards.

What is neurofuturism?

To my mind, the following is the truth of the matter. Neurofuturism is a radical imagining of a world in which the neurodiversity movement has succeeded. Neurofuturism allows us to picture the destination so as to make it easier to map the route there.

As part of this, we also have to consider what we will do when we arrive at our destination. Do we allow the dust to settle? Should we hang up our armour and sheath our swords? Do we settle in the space we have created? The concept invites us to consider not just our current fight for equitable treatment but also what the next part of our saga might look like.

Building on Self-advocacy and the Chaotic Self

There are two core principles that form the foundations of neurofuturism.

  • In the same way that self-advocates can guide newcomers through experiences they have had themselves because they have reached a destination in their life; so too can we advance the neurodiversity movement towards it’s goal by radically imagining what that goal may look like.
  • The nature of the Self is one of chaos. It changes over time with each interaction with its environment. The neurodiversity movement can also be viewed as a Chaotic Self or a constantly growing and evolving organism. The destination we imagine will change and evolve with us as we work towards it.

Further thoughts on the principles of neurofuturism

As the organism of the neurodiversity movement grows and evolves, so too must our goals. As goals shift and change, we must adjust the route we take. Neurofuturism rejects a hierarchical approach to the knowledge and aims of the neurodiversity movement, and instead embraces a neuroanarchistic approach of forward motion outside of identity politics.

The nature of the neurodiversity movement is perpetual motion under these principles. Stagnation is the death of liberty. Rather than solely bring newcomers into our fold, we must leap towards a future of infinite possibility, restricted only by what we can imagine that future to be.

Concluding thoughts

Neurofuturism is by it’s nature not a pursuit of isolation. It requires the understanding and balancing of all goals, all needs, and an uncoupling from dogmatic approaches to advocacy. It asks us the question “what if..?” While also helping us to define “how?”

We are able to explore the shifting goal of our future by building on the knowledge that has come before whilst retaining a critical mind. Neurofuturism is the reparenting of a movement with the goal of birthing a paradigm shift.

Footnote

Neuroanarchy as a concept was created by Katie Minday, their original definition can be found by clicking here.

David Gray-Hammond 0 Comments
Mar 4 2024
A reflection for Weird Pride Day

Weird Pride Day is born of the desire to stand unashamed in the face of a world that seeks to minimise us. It should come as no surprise then that I, an Autistic, ADHD, and Schizophrenic man, find this appealing. Society has sought to contain people such as myself through medicalisation, institutionalisation, and erasure, for a long time. Whether it be containment in the socio-political sense, or in the very real sense, the world has done it’s best to alienate the weird. Today, then, is a day where we escape the shackles of such a world.

What is Weird Pride?

Like most contemporary forms of pride, weird pride is not born of a desire to be special, or more valuable than others. It is a refusal to be ashamed. It is the words we use to embrace our own experience and give ourselves permission to take up space. Put another way, weird pride is our attempt at a right to exist. The world has historically seen us as unpredictable, caging us like an animal that could tear through the masses if given the opportunity. We are dangerous, but not to the average person. We are a risk to the status quo. However, to admit this truth, the arbiters of normality would first have to admit that the world is designed to exclude many of us.

What does this day mean for us?

March 4th, Weird Pride Day, is the day when we fly our freak flags high. If Halloween is the day when the veil between the physical and spiritual world is thinnest; Weird Pride day is the day when the boundaries between perceived mundanity and a colourful truth become a bit blurrier. This is the day when we dismantle the normativity of a world that desires uniformity and assimilation rather than the rainbow of difference that exists. March 4th is a day to fly your freak flag high and without shame.

Where does Weird Pride get us?

Every time we embrace our own weirdness, we chip away at the bonds of normativity. Every March 4th brings us one day closer to a world where we no longer have to contain ourselves for fear of retribution. Weird Pride is one key to the many locks that hold us inside the stone chamber of the status quo. It’s a day when we can do justice to the many weird people who have lost their lives to normativity. It’s a day when we push back against normative violence.

How can you get involved in the Weird Pride movement?

You can start by visiting the Weird Pride Day website. You can also post on social media using the #WeirdPride abd #WeirdPrideDay tags. Do what feels natural to you. Be you, unashamedly. You can also support your fellow weirdo’s by amplifying their words and expressions on your platforms. Share and rejoice in the beauty of weirdness.

In case you haven’t seen it, here is a previous article I wrote on Weird Pride Day.

Illusttation of person sitting on a chair in front of a rainbow staircase. Text reads- Weird Pride day Just Be You And iif people don't like it, find new people.
David Gray-Hammond 0 Comments
Jan 11 2024
Autism and the challenge ahead

There are many things about being Autistic that we can celebrate. However, we have to be careful that in doing so we don’t inadvertently engage in the erasure of our struggles. Campaigns like #ItsNotOkToNotBeOk will only succeed if we commit to improving the things that cause our suffering. That requires some difficult conversations with ourselves. Autism is a site of pain alongside joy, and by having those difficult conversations, we may just be able to prop up that joy.

What are the challenges facing Autistic people?

Broadly speaking, we can identify the collective issues that occur within the abstract concept of autism as minority stress. That is the collective impact of the stressors faced by a minority group (Botha et al, 2020). The research goes on to demonstrate that increased minority stress is correlated with worse mental health outcomes.

Lund (2021) goes further to suggest that in the context of disability, minority stress may be applicable in understanding suicidality. This suggests that stressors both within and beyond one’s social horizon could be causally linked to increased suicidality for Autistic people.

Autism and suicide

According to the Royal College of Psychiatrists, Autistic people are 9x more likely to die by suicide than the general population. Autism, it would seem, represents a significant suicide risk. In fact, they go on to highlight that Autistic children are 28x more likely to think about or attempt suicide.

Attempting to reduce the dramatically increased rates of suicidality among Autistic people requires us to pick apart the different stressors that come together to form the aforementioned minority stress. Rather than fishing people out of the water, we need to find out why they keep falling in.

Autistic people and employment inequality

The Office for National Statistics in the UK suggests that Autistic people are one of the groups most likely to struggle with employment, with only 22% in any kind of employment. While these statistics will pnly have accounted for diagnosed Autistic people, it suggests that autism is not well accommodated in the work environment.

In my opinion, this is a result of hostile work environments and ableism among professionals. Between offensive sensory experiences and ableist colleagues, it is unsurprising that Autistic people struggle to maintain their place in the world of work. This is made more complicated when you consider the high rates of co-occuring ADHD in the Autistic community. ADHD presents a 60% greater chance of being fired (according to adhdcentre.co.uk).

Autism and healthcare inequality

Autistic people often report difficulty with regard to the accessibility of healthcare systems the world over. One of the primary issues discussed about this in literature is the lack of skill and communication breakdown between professional and non-professional (Malik-Soni et al, 2022). It would seem that autism alone is not the only variable in healthcare inequality.

As I have mentioned in previous articles, some academics have used extensions of the double empathy problem to explain empathy and communication barriers between patients and professionals (Shaw et al, 2023). While such divides are significant in reducing accessibility to services, we should also remember that the practicalities of attending appointments and the physical environment also pose significant challenges for Autistic people.

Autism and poverty

Autistic people are more likely to experience poverty than the general population. One of the biggest barriers to financial stability is the inhumane policies around disability benefits in the UK (Grant & Williams on The Conversation, 2023). In particular is the issue with autism classing as a psychiatric disorder. Such groups are among the least likely to be awarded disability benefits.

This, of course, is compounded by the employment inequality mentioned previously. If one can not secure employment or disability benefits, poverty is an inevitability. In my opinion, this correlates with an increased likelihood for criminality and criminal exploitation.

Autistic people and criminal exploitation

The website for Preventing Criminal Exploitation Toolkit suggests that Autistic people may have certain vulnerabilities for criminal exploitation. Autism is often a diagnosis resulting in infantilisation. This means that Autistic adults may not have been taught the necessary skills to remain safe when accessing the community.

It is of no surprise then that Autistic people can often be found involved in county lines gangs and cases of mate crime and cuckooing. Autistic people represent promising targets for people with malicious intent.

Autism, mental health, and substance use

Mental health problems can be observed in the Autistic community at significantly higher rates than in the general population. No matter what type of mental health problem you measure, you will find increased rates in Autistic demographics (Lai et al, 2019). Besides the factors mentioned in this article, I have also co-authored an article with Tanya Adkin about the increased rates of trauma in Autistic populations.

Substance use is also another notable area where Autistic people are likely to be found. Weir et al (2021) found that Autistic adolescents and adults were more likely to report self-medicating with recreational drugs. This, of course, feeds back into increased rates of suicidality and early mortality.

Conclusion

The issues discussed in this article are not a conclusive list of the challenges facing Autistic people. Within the scope of autism is a need for total systemic change from the foundations up. Rather than focus on surface level accommodations to make current systems accessible, it is necessary to work towards a new society wherein sustainability and neurocosmopolitanism are key tenets.

We are living in the masters house, and no amount of repainting the walls and laying new carpet is going to change that. If we want a world where people have equal access, we have to dismantle the masters house and replace it with something of our own design. There is a better world available to us, but it will take a lot of hard work to get there.

#ItsNotOkToNotBeOk

References

Botha, M., & Frost, D. M. (2020). Extending the minority stress model to understand mental health problems experienced by the autistic population. Society and mental health, 10(1), 20-34.

Lai, M. C., Kassee, C., Besney, R., Bonato, S., Hull, L., Mandy, W., … & Ameis, S. H. (2019). Prevalence of co-occurring mental health diagnoses in the autism population: a systematic review and meta-analysis. The Lancet Psychiatry, 6(10), 819-829.

Lund, E. M. (2021). Examining the potential applicability of the minority stress model for explaining suicidality in individuals with disabilities. Rehabilitation psychology, 66(2), 183.

Malik-Soni, N., Shaker, A., Luck, H., Mullin, A. E., Wiley, R. E., Lewis, M. S., … & Frazier, T. W. (2022). Tackling healthcare access barriers for individuals with autism from diagnosis to adulthood. Pediatric Research, 91(5), 1028-1035.

Shaw, S. C., Carravallah, L., Johnson, M., O’Sullivan, J., Chown, N., Neilson, S., & Doherty, M. (2023). Barriers to healthcare and a ‘triple empathy problem’may lead to adverse outcomes for autistic adults: A qualitative study. Autism, 13623613231205629.

Weir, E., Allison, C., & Baron-Cohen, S. (2021). Understanding the substance use of autistic adolescents and adults: a mixed-methods approach. The Lancet Psychiatry, 8(8), 673-685.

David Gray-Hammond 1 Comments
Nov 6 2023
AuDHD and the politics of neurodivergent embodiment

When living life as an AuDHD (Autistic and ADHD) person, we often find ourselves falling prey to the propaganda of Western society’s neoliberalism. The enforced belief that one should be self-reliant and contribute to the capitalist machine is one that leads to the victimisation of most, if not all, of us. It’s easy to get caught in tackling the surface level ableism. However, we must dig deeper and fight the roots of our oppression in order to begin building a society we can thrive in.

The politicised existence of AuDHD people

When considering the nature of being AuDHD and/or otherwise neurodivergent, it is necessary to consider that we are not allowed to simply exist. As a marginalised community, most every aspect of our lives is a political matter.

Government welfare schemes decide if you can afford to feed yourself and your family, government health departments decide if you should have equal access to lifesaving treatments, and if so, how much you should pay. If you break the law, the government dictates your experience of the criminal justice system. If you are terminally ill, the government dictates the decisions you can make around the end of your life. When you are AuDHD, much of your autonomy in life is shaped by government legislation.

The weaponisation of our politicised existence

While your life is being dictated by those with no experience of it, we have the proverbial carrot dangled in front of us. Assimilate and be free. To some this might seem like an attractive option. If we were to just give in, less of our life would be dictated. Again, this is a mistruth.

The politics of the pathology paradigm are built upon neuronormativity. That unattainable summit of neurotypical performance that those in power ask us to achieve. Through the political control and oppression of neurodivergent embodiment, we are given the choice to deny ourselves; live inauthentically and be provided for, or be true to ourselves and relinquish our agency over our own lives.

To be neurodivergent in Western society is to accept that you are an afterthought, an anomaly to be corrected. As much as we threaten the status quo, the status quo threatens us. Thus, the spectre of legislative intrusion into our lives becomes a weapon to force us into the neurotypical box.

The paradoxical nature of being AuDHD

Politicised attitudes towards autism and ADHD are paradoxical in nature. The Autistic person should be less rigid and structured, while the ADHD person should stick to a routine. The Autistic person should socialise more naturally while the ADHD person should talk less.

No matter the contradictions we live with as AuDHD people, one thing is clear. Society wants us to silence our neurodivergence. To speak neurodivergently, be it with mouth or body, spoken or written, no matter the medium, society wishes for our silence.

Liberating AuDHD embodiment

One could be forgiven for thinking that to liberate AuDHD and neurodivergent people requires the removal of ableism from government. It’s more complex than that. Neurodivergent people are victims of complex systems of bigotry. Rarely are we only impacted by ableism. We face racism, homophobia and transphobia, ableism, sanism. This is not an exhaustive list.

To liberate AuDHD’ers living in a society built on colonialism and white supremacy, we must form new foundations to our society. We must build a place where all are accepted, rather than the privileged few in our culture whose existence is not seen as a disorder. We must embrace those seen as a pathology of humanity and empower each other to make something better than what we have currently.

It is not a disorder to be human. The world deserves better than that which the privileged few offer us.

David Gray-Hammond 0 Comments
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