10/16/2026
This is a great visual!
Inspired by the Wheel of Power and Privilege by Sylvia Duckworth, I created the Wheel of Neuronormativity to illustrate the different ways that individuals experience proximity to neuronormativity.
At the centre are experiences and ways of functioning that are more closely aligned with neuronormative expectations and towards the outer edges are experiences that diverge further from these expectations.
Someone might experience relatively few barriers in how they communicate but encounter significant barriers because of how they process sensory information.
Someone might align with dominant expectations around attention but diverge from expectations surrounding emotional expression or altered states.
Someone might diverge from neuronormativity in some ways but comfortably and sustainably align with neuronormative expectations in other ways.
This is not to suggest that everyone is neurodivergent.
It just means that proximity to neuronormativity is complex and we need to have more conversations about how people’s ways of functioning are interpreted, accommodated, rewarded or punished within particular social and institutional contexts.
Two people might both be neurodivergent but encounter very different consequences depending on how they diverge from neuronormativity.
Likewise, someone who occupies a relatively privileged position within neuronormativity might diverge from particular expectations without experiencing the broader patterns of marginalisation associated with neurodivergence.
The purpose of the Wheel of Neuronormativity is to make visible the multiple dimensions through which neuronormativity operates, showing how individuals can experience varying degrees of advantages and disadvantages depending on their proximity to different neuronormative expectations and how they’re interpreted.
*this is a working model that is still being developed and refined, it is not a fixed or exhaustive representation of neuronormativity*
