Open Society

Capitalism places everyone, neurotypical as well as neurodivergent, in a ’double bind’ of either being valued as a worker and thus exploited, or being categorized as surplus and thus discriminated against.

As the autistic experience of the world differs from that of non-autistic people, so too does autistic behaviour. Understanding what is usual for an autistic patient facilitates care. Repetitive behaviour, which is common to autistic people, is termed ‘stimming’. It varies in manifestation and function, but may include hand flapping, whole body movements or the subtle use of fidget tools. In stressful situations, anxiety may be alleviated by stimming, so we advise encouraging the use of whatever tools a patient finds beneficial.

With the help of written language, WEIRD societies and powered-up empires emphasise and formalised a top-down perspective on the propagation of cultural practices and values. With the context of empires, education is no longer primarily about omni-directional learning at human scale, but it degrades into various forms of uni-directional indoctrination, administered by those in formal positions of “authority”. In small human scale societies without abstract formal authorities, everyone learns from everyone, primarily by observation, imitation, and asking for assistance. For small children in human scale societies the household and extended family provide a rich environment for omni-directional learning.

There is a natural human need to feel understood and connected; connections build relationships and support good mental health. For some people, those connections and relationships may not look different from the more conventional norms the majority of society holds but are equally valuable. For people who feel marginalised either by neurodivergence, disability or by being in another minority group, there is often no space already carved out for support and building connections in local communities. This can cause feelings of isolation and disconnection. Yet, the need to find people that understand and can connect within the same folds, with similar interests and values, can lead people to create their communities.It feels like a rabbit warren of underground tunnels and caves where people meet, mainly through online social media platforms. The continuous physical growth of these spaces where people are connecting is slowly creating ripples and heading into real family spaces and showing a genuine need for change in our education system as more and more children are showing how the current frameworks are just not meeting needs and resulting in school attendance difficulties and mental health concerns. There is a rise in the UK in families actively seeking alternative pathways through home education or alternative provision routes. Neuroqueering is not just a philosophical theory; it is about actively looking forpositive change and creating new paths in your life and for your family towards a happier future.