Why Inclusion Poses a Risk for the Gifted

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.