Autistic Self-Advocacy and the Neurodiversity Movement: Implications for Autism Early Intervention Research and Practice.
Leadbitter, Buckle, Ellis and Dekker (2021)
The growth of Autistic self-advocacy and the neurodiversity movement has brought about new ideas and concepts to the way Autism is viewed and supported. The authors of this article argue that all autism intervention stakeholders need to understand and actively engage with the views of Autistic people and with neurodiversity as a concept and movement. The authors suggest that intervention researchers and practitioners need to move away from a normative agenda and work towards an environmental goodness of fit, Autistic developmental trajectories, internal drivers and experiences, and autistic prioritized intervention targets. The authors stress the need for Autism intervention researchers to form partnerships with Autistic people and stress the pressing need for increased reflection and articulation around how intervention practices align with a neurodiversity framework.