Hi, I am Dr. Z
Welcome to NDIVS. You are here because I have asked you to visit this site (if you are one of my current or former clients), or because you found me on the web (possible albeit unlikely, seeing that there are millions and millions of websites on the Internet), or you just got here by accident. In any case, welcome to Neurodivergence Research and Education!
This site will be of interest to you
- if you already know you are on the autism spectrum,
- or you’re not sure you are,
- or you know or love someone who may be on the spectrum.
If you can get past your natural reluctance to engage with the topic of autism (the word does have a historical stigma attached to it, unfortunately), or your skepticism of anything brainy, or your understandable desire to pretend that absolutely nothing is the matter with some of your behaviors, your frequently short attention span, and your sensory and emotional touchiness, then you’ve come to the right place.
I wish you well on your search for meaning. Contact me if I can do anything to help.
Dr. Mark Zuccolo, Alpharetta, Georgia USA
Neurodivergent or Neurotypical?
So you have been told by a doctor, a psychotherapist, or someone in the know that you may be “on the spectrum.” You may have certain sensitivities (to tastes, sights, sounds, touch, or smells); you may have trouble keeping a schedule or completing tasks (ADHD or ADD); you may experience moments of awkwardness in social situations; you may have passions and interests that grab all your attention; you may be resorting to drugs (especially weed) or alcohol to find some relief from the unstoppable flow of thoughts and emotions that curse through your mind… what is going on? Rest assured: you are not crazy, weird, or bad. Not in the least! The words you want to use in describing yourself and the way your brain works are not those. Rather, begin to think of yourself in terms of variations, differences, or diversity of configuration. A machine with 8 gigs of RAM and 12 cores with 6TB of storage is built with a very different configuration than that of a cheap Chromebook laptop. And yet, they are both computers – very differently configured and powered, for sure, but they work in exactly the same way. Read more
Dr Hagar Goldberg
The Science of Neurodiversity
Neurodiversity is a concept and a social movement that addresses and normalizes human neurocognitive heterogeneity to promote acceptance and inclusion of neuro-minorities (e.g., learning disabilities, attention disorders, psychiatric disorders, and more) in contemporary society. Neurodiversity is attributed to nature and nurture factors, and about a fifth of the human population is considered neurodivergent. What does neurodiversity mean neuroscientifically? This question forms the foundation of the present entry, which focuses on existing scientific evidence on neurodiversity including neurodiversity between and within individuals, and the evolutional perspective of neurodiversity. Furthermore, the neuroscientific view will be synergistically integrated with social approaches, particularly in the context of the normalization of neurodiversity and its association with the medical and social models of disability. This multidimensional analysis offers a cohesive and comprehensive understanding of neurodiversity, drawing insights from various vantage points, such as social, psychological, clinical, and neuroscientific viewpoints. This integrated approach fosters a nuanced and holistic discussion on the topic of human diversity. Continue reading
Neuroscience
Public Information
Historiography
Semantics