Judy Singer
Judy Singer | |
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| Alma mater | University of Technology Sydney |
| School | Disability studies |
Notable ideas | Neurodiversity |
| Neurodiversity paradigm |
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Judy Singer is an Australian sociologist, known for coining the term "neurodiversity".[1]
Biography
[edit]Judy Singer, the daughter of a Jewish mother who survived World War II, grew up in Australia. For many years, she worked as a computer consultant and later became a single mother. She noticed traits in her daughter that resembled the social difficulties of her mother. Later, Singer's daughter was diagnosed with Asperger syndrome.[2][3] Singer has also described herself as "likely somewhere on the autistic spectrum".[4]
Before the diagnosis, Singer began studying sociology at the University of Technology Sydney and delved into British and American disability studies.[5][6][better source needed] While following the virtual activism of autistic and other neurologically different people in the mid-1990s, particularly on the Independent Living Mailing List forum, she met journalist Harvey Blume.[7] Due to accreditation of the origin of the term "neurodiversity" to Singer by Steve Silberman in his book NeuroTribes, Singer is often credited with the creation of the term neurodiversity[1] to represent both the idea of neurological diversity and to think about the existence of a social movement of neurological minorities that would also include the autism rights movement.[8][9][10] However, this term first appeared in publication in a 1998 article by Harvey Blume, a year before Singer included it in a book chapter discussing the development of the concept of "neurological diversity" online. In this chapter, Singer did not claim to have created the term, and only used it in passing.[1]
In Australia, Singer also created ASpar, a group to support families of autistic people. In 2016, she published the book Neurodiversity: The Birth of an Idea.[11]
Singer has distanced herself from the expansion of the term neurodiversity outside of her original focus on "high functioning" autism awareness when coining the term, stating: “I was very clear in my thesis that I was only talking about Asperger’s."[12]
Publications
[edit]- Neurodiversity: The birth of an Idea (2016)
References
[edit]- ^ a b c Botha, Monique; Chapman, Robert; Giwa Onaiwu, Morénike; Kapp, Steven K; Stannard Ashley, Abs; Walker, Nick (12 March 2024). "The neurodiversity concept was developed collectively: An overdue correction on the origins of neurodiversity theory". Autism. doi:10.1177/13623613241237871. ISSN 1362-3613. Retrieved 12 March 2024.
- ^ Tiago Abreu (8 March 2021). "Introvertendo 161 - Judy Singer". Introvertendo (in Portuguese). Retrieved 26 April 2021.
- ^ Andrew Solomon. "The Autism Rights Movement". New York Magazine. Retrieved 20 February 2023.
- ^ "Meet Judy Singer Neurodiversity Pioneer". My Spectrum Suite. Archived from the original on 24 October 2017. Retrieved 4 March 2023.
- ^ Tumlin, Zachary (2019). ""This Is a Quiet Library, Except When It's Not:" On the Lack of Neurodiversity Awareness in Librarianship". Music Reference Services Quarterly. Retrieved 20 February 2023.
- ^ Nancy Doyle. "Can We Celebrate Neurodiversity Yet?". Forbes. Retrieved 20 February 2023.
- ^ Abreu, Tiago (2022). O que é neurodiversidade? (1st ed.). Goiânia: Cânone Editorial. p. 80. ISBN 9786588321096.
- ^ "Judy Singer e a neurodiversidade". Autismo e Realidade (in Portuguese). 25 June 2020. Retrieved 26 April 2021.
- ^ "Why there is no such thing as a 'normal' brain". BBC News. Retrieved 26 April 2021.
- ^ "Igual, mas diferente". Folha de S.Paulo (in Portuguese). Retrieved 26 April 2021.
- ^ Hughes, Jonathan A. (2020). "Does the heterogeneity of autism undermine the neurodiversity paradigm?". Bioethics. Retrieved 26 April 2021.
- ^ Lutz, Amy S.F. (26 June 2023). "An Interview with Neurodiversity Originator Judy Singer". Psychology Today.
External links
[edit]- Official website
- The mother of neurodiversity: how Judy Singer changed the world, 2023 interview in The Guardian
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- Autism rights movement
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- University of Technology Sydney alumni
- Australian people of Jewish descent
- Australian women non-fiction writers
- 20th-century Australian women writers
- 21st-century Australian women writers
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