Judy Singer

Judy Singer
Born	Australia
Alma mater	University of Technology Sydney
School	Disability studies
Notable ideas	Neurodiversity

Neurodiversity paradigm
Philosophy Autism rights movement Bodily autonomy Disability rights movement Independent living movement Self-advocacy
Organizations Aspies For Freedom Autism Network International Autistic Self Advocacy Network National Autistic Society
Events Autism Acceptance Day & Month Autism History Month Autistic Pride Day Autscape Disability Day of Mourning Neurodiversity Celebration Week Weird Pride Day
Issues Ableism Anti-autism All in a Row Applied behavior analysis Augmentative and alternative communication Autism-friendly Autism Speaks Communication Shutdown Community integration Controversies in autism Deinstitutionalisation Disability-selective abortion Double empathy problem Employment Ethical challenges to autism treatment Eugenics Facilitated communication Filicide Inclusion in education Inclusion as a right Judge Rotenberg Center Neurodiversity and labor rights Social model of disability Societal and cultural aspects of autism Universal Design for Learning Violence
People Alex Plank Ari Ne'eman Damian Milton Daniel Lightwing Devon Price Donna Williams govy Greta Thunberg Jim Sinclair John Elder Robison Josef Schovanec Judy Singer Julia Bascom Lydia Brown Mel Baggs Michelle Dawson Morénike Giwa Onaiwu Morton Ann Gernsbacher Nick Walker Robert Chapman Roy Richard Grinker Shain Neumeier Stephen Shore Steve Silberman Temple Grandin William Davenport M. Remi Yergeau
Films Citizen Autistic Deej Loving Lampposts Neurotypical
Criticism Pro-cure perspective National Council on Severe Autism Matthew Belmonte Manuel Casanova Jill Escher Michael Fitzpatrick Bruce Hall David Miedzianik Jonathan Mitchell Alysson Muotri Jonathan Shestack Alison Singer
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Judy Singer is an Australian sociologist, known for coining the term "neurodiversity".^[1]

Judy Singer, the daughter of a Jewish mother who survived World War II, grew up in Australia. For many years, she worked as a computer consultant and later became a single mother. She noticed traits in her daughter that resembled the social difficulties of her mother. Later, Singer's daughter was diagnosed with Asperger syndrome.^[2][3] Singer has also described herself as "likely somewhere on the autistic spectrum".^[4]

Before the diagnosis, Singer began studying sociology at the University of Technology Sydney and delved into British and American disability studies.^{[5][6][better source needed]} While following the virtual activism of autistic and other neurologically different people in the mid-1990s, particularly on the Independent Living Mailing List forum, she met journalist Harvey Blume.^[7] Due to accreditation of the origin of the term "neurodiversity" to Singer by Steve Silberman in his book NeuroTribes, Singer is often credited with the creation of the term neurodiversity^[1] to represent both the idea of neurological diversity and to think about the existence of a social movement of neurological minorities that would also include the autism rights movement.^[8][9][10] However, this term first appeared in publication in a 1998 article by Harvey Blume, a year before Singer included it in a book chapter discussing the development of the concept of "neurological diversity" online. In this chapter, Singer did not claim to have created the term, and only used it in passing.^[1]

In Australia, Singer also created ASpar, a group to support families of autistic people. In 2016, she published the book Neurodiversity: The Birth of an Idea.^[11]

Singer has distanced herself from the expansion of the term neurodiversity outside of her original focus on "high functioning" autism awareness when coining the term, stating: “I was very clear in my thesis that I was only talking about Asperger’s."^[12]

• Neurodiversity: The birth of an Idea (2016)

• Official website
• The mother of neurodiversity: how Judy Singer changed the world, 2023 interview in The Guardian

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