Neurodiversity reveals there’s no such thing as a normal brain: Best ideas of the century

In the past, science assumed that there was a “normal” brain that perfectly conformed to society. Those who were different could be diagnosed with an illness or mental health problem and were treated as if there was something wrong with them. Over the decades, scientists have refined the concept that neurodevelopmental conditions such as autism, ADHD, dyslexia and dyspraxia should be considered distinct and reflect very different brains.

Then, in the late 1990s, a new idea began to emerge. What if these “disorders” were better understood as a natural variation in how the human brain may be wired? What if, instead of a hard line between normal and abnormal functions, human traits and abilities existed on a spectrum on which we all fall somewhere? And while extreme people face challenges, their unusual brains also have unique strengths. Seen in this light, brain diversity is not a problem to be solved, but an asset that, if properly supported, could benefit everyone.

The concept of neurodiversity arose from discussions in online autism advocacy groups, but it didn’t take long for scientific evidence to support it. In 2013, the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders removed the diagnosis of Asperger’s syndrome as a “higher functioning” form of autism, instead recognizing a condition, autism spectrum disorder, on a scale from level one to level three, depending on the level of support required. The notion of neurodivergence as a spectrum was firmly anchored in the medical literature.

Studies since the early 2000s have shown that people with autism are more likely to have above-average skills in mathematical reasoning and attention to detail. People with ADHD perform better on creativity tests, as do people with dyslexia, who also excel at shape recognition and big-picture thinking. People with dyspraxia have also been found more creative as they develop sophisticated coping methods.

These types of discoveries have led many scientists to believe that neurodiverse pathologies are not the result of an evolutionary accident. They exist because our ancestors benefited from having a few visionary, creative, detail-oriented perfectionist thinkers in the group. With a handful of masterminds with different specialized skills, the group would be better able to explore, adapt, and survive. Some researchers are also beginning to rethink the autism spectrum along these lines, suggesting that there may be distinct subtypes of the condition with different groups of challenges and abilities.

Some researchers caution that reframing neurodivergent diseases as “superpowers” ​​is not always helpful. “By being too positive, we risk undermining the seriousness of this situation, especially if it is not supported,” says Jessica Eccles, a psychiatrist and neurodiversity researcher at Brighton and Sussex Medical School in the United Kingdom. Still, “now that we have a vocabulary for it, we’ve opened the door to understanding both its strengths and its challenges, so people can move more easily across the world,” she says.