GDC's liason to Italy, Gifted Italia blogger, and advocate,Francesca Godani, challenges the neurodiversity label.
"Neurodiversity,” as it is currently intended in the public discourse, is an intellectual (i.e., non-scientific) construct originally adopted as the foundation of a human rights movement intended for autism advocacy. With time, this movement has pushed to expand the construct to include an ever-increasing number of “differences” which share the common trait of creating difficulties or “deficits.”
Lately, people have started debating whether giftedness should be placed under the “neurodiversity” umbrella. I personally find this debate to be unnecessary. In contrast to all those other “differences,” giftedness, in itself, does not create difficulties or deficits; this contrast is simply too profound to be ignored. Merging it with “neurodiversities” would create the impression that giftedness too needs to be “treated.” I feel that this mindset would lead to harmful consequences for the gifted and those who care about them.
