Performative and Perfunctory
And as I've immersed myself further into the Neurodiversity Movement, my lenses are shifting. My own internalized ableism, prejudices and "model minority" privileges are being challenged and I am unlearning the harmful things I've said and done and thought in previous years. I have also been paying closer attention to systemic issues of racism (fragility, privilege, microaggressions), patriarchy and misogynism, classism, ableism, and other harmful ideologies and beliefs that inform how people view one another and interact with each other.
I'm not the only one who has taken notice, either. Forbes published this article, 2021 - the Year That The Neurodiversity Movement Came of Age - and the Scientific American published this piece on misconceptions of the ND movement in 2019.
The language of neurodiversity has even seeped into those archaic government systems that I've been advocating against; both the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Family and Child Development have sprinkled the words "neurodiversity" and "neurodivergence" around like confetti, but do they actually know what these terms really mean, and are they actually committed to following the tenets and practises of this movement? Or, are they trying to capture the zeitgeist of this moment in history by referencing terms that they actually don't understand, and frameworks they are ill-equipped to support?
I think you know the answer. Because the moment the Minister says, "children with neurodiversity" you know that they don't know what they are talking about. And the moment someone claims to support all neurotypes, but *only* in ways that they think are "appropriate" for these neurotypes, they've already committed the cardinal faux pas of, "Nothing about us without us."
Honestly, my new favourite words to use here are performative and perfunctory. Both describe the government ministries to a tee; they are using specific words associated with the movement as "dog whistles" to try to appeal to populations that have rejected their proposed changes, and they are also literally doing the minimum of effort or work to actually try and understand what the ND movement is really about.
If they had actually dug deeper, they wouldn't have proposed the things that they are trying to push into implementation. They would have sought meaningful consultation with the families, advocacy organizations, and ND-affirming service providers to actually come up with a new system that allows all children, regardless of neurotype and need, to be adequately supported in classrooms and homes across this province. They would have sought additional funding, pursued ongoing collaboration with schools and disability organizations, and listened to the thousands of voices protesting in front of the Parliament. They would have actually taken the time to respond to the petition of over 23,000 people. They would never have pushed for the wholesale full-scale changes that limit the kinds of services and supports that disabled, neurodivergent children will be able to access. They would not be attempting to align with only one kind of therapeutic framework, because neurodivergent adults have already spoken out time and again condemning the use of behaviourist and ableist programs and "therapies" that seek to make ND populations look "normal" and neurotypical.
I could go on, but the fact remains that we live in a broken society led by broken systems that often fail the most oppressed and the most marginalized in society. The very ones that need the most support and help are the ones that are being left to drown. And instead of taking a proactive, pragmatic approach to supporting this emerging population of neurodivergent and ND-affirming advocates, the government has chosen to be performative and to take the most perfunctory actions possible.
Nobody wins in this scenario. Which is why I, and the thousands beside me, will have to keep fighting.
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