Current debates

Abstract This chapter explores key debates within the neurodiversity movement, highlighting tensions around inclusion, misrepresentation, and the risks of superficial adoption. It critiques the exclusion of people with learning disabilities, exposing how societal valuation of intelligence marginalizes them despite their equal human worth. The chapter also condemns ‘neurodiversity-lite’—the co-opting of neurodiversity language without genuine structural change—as dangerously misleading and obstructive to liberation. It counters critiques that equate neurodiversity with anti-psychiatry or divisive identity politics, clarifying its distinct roots and inclusive ambitions. Finally, the chapter calls for radical, co-produced change that centres collective liberation, cautioning against dilution of the paradigm’s revolutionary intent.