Bonus Content

Cover art for Reckoning: A Chorus, Divergent by artist Abi Stevens, featuring a multi-colored, eight-winged moth with symbols for different kinds of neurodiversity on its wings, surrounded by an octagonal geometric border with pink and orange moon phases and purple cloudsA Chorus, Divergent

Neurodivergent, adjective [English] (neu·ro·di·ver·gent)

: having or relating to a disorder or condition (such as autism spectrum disorder, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, dyslexia, or obsessive-compulsive disorder) that impacts the way the brain processes information : exhibiting or characteristic of variations in typical neurological development.1

 

Neurodiversity, noun [English] (neu·ro·di·ver·si·ty)

1: individual differences in brain functioning regarded as normal variations within the human population

2: the concept that differences in brain functioning within the human population are normal, that brain functioning that is not neurotypical should not be stigmatized, and that people with neurodivergent brain functioning should not be excluded from groups, organizations, etc.2

 

“[The neurodiversity paradigm] challenges us to reexamine all categories and concepts that currently fall under the pathology paradigm, lest it turn out we have wrongly medicalized suffering in any strand of human life that might better be accounted for in terms of social marginalization and oppression.”3

 

Important Notes

The words “neurodivergent” and “neurodiversity” are rooted in the English language and English speaking and cultural contexts.

Definitions of neurodivergence and disabilities (as with other marginalizations) are culturally and societally ascribed. What is labeled as such in one culture may not be in another.

While we will often find “neurodivergent” and “neurodiversity” used together, it is important to understand that “neurodiversity” and the Neurodiversity Movement represent a paradigm shift from pathology to diversity. This shift, however, does not (and should not) include the very real and disabling experiences of neurodivergent individuals.

 

Further Reading on Neurodiversity

 

A Sampling of Organizations Related to Specific Neurodivergences4

 

More Cool Stuff

1. Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, s.v. “neurodivergent,” accessed September 12, 2025, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/neurodivergent.

2. Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, s.v. “neurodiversity,” accessed September 12, 2025, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/neurodiversity.

3. Robert Chapman. “Neurodiversity Theory and Its Discontents: Autism, Schizophrenia, and the Social Model of Disability,” The Bloomsbury Companion to Philosophy of Psychiatry, Bloomsbury Publishing, 2019 (pp. 371-390).

4. This sampling should in no way read as an endorsement from us, simply a starting place for personal education.

Photo of C.G. Aubrey, a smiling, white, female-presenting person in brown glasses and a scarf patterned with bright orange maple leaves.

Author: C. G. Aubrey

Managing Editor, Fiction Co-Editor, CNF Co-Editor

C.G. Aubrey is a queer, AuDHD writer and outdoor enthusiast obsessed with yellow leaves, swamp rainbows, and em dashes. She holds dual-masters degrees in US History and Religious Studies and often finds inspiration at the intersection of cultural memory, religion, and the environment. Her story “A Predatory Transience” appeared in Reckoning in 2023; she’s been editing here ever since. Find her occasionally on Bluesky @cgaubrey.bsky.social, Instagram @c.g.aubrey, and www.cgaubrey.com.