About NOMADS | United
Who are NOMADS | United? We are an advocacy and self-advocacy group working to unite all forms of neurological diversity, promote our full inclusion and access to opportunity in society and development of supports and resources unique to our traits for contribution to the common good.
Neurodiversity (Defined)
All natural variants of neurological genetic makeup expressed as phenotypic traits.
Neurodivergence (Defined)
All minor variants / alternative forms of neurodiversity. For our purposes and work, the focus is on positive variance of neurological phenotypes.
What we DON’T focus on:
Political/social activist or advocacy work related to …
- Race
- Ethnicity
- Gender
- Sexuality
- Disability (with exception of short & long-term traumatic impacts of discrimination and hostile environments related to normal expression of innate traits)
Our focus IS on neuro-cognitive insights related to …
- Discovering and understanding all natural variations (trait differences orientation)
- Defending social/economic rights & fighting systemic oppression of neurodivergents
- Providing supports and development paths tailored to neurological variations
Difference, Not Disability
Our purpose is to eradicate discrimination and systemic violence against innate and identity-related expressions of neuro-cognitive traits. All medical deficit language directly related to positive neurological variation is considered discriminatory and aimed at lessening our basic human rights and dignity. We aim to replace this language with new, positive and balanced use of labels and descriptions in collective voice among and across neurodivergent identities.
We know and have experienced discrimination in every facet of society living for far too long. Education, work, government, healthcare and all other areas of society. This is not, and has never been, acceptable. A lack of understanding, neuromajority group norms, and ignorance have fueled this systemic practice of apathy and dehumanization. It ends in this generation. We need all kinds of minds for a resilient ecosystem and will now move forward on this mandate.
Calls to Action
This is a call to change physical and social systems that discriminate against all innate, trait-positive forms of neurodivergence.
CALL TO ACTION #1 –
End Pathologizing/Medicalization; Remove Neurological Traits from DSM
This includes a call to remove all medical labels from the Diagnostic Statistical Manual (DSM) and end the medicalization of natural, healthy variation. The DSM was established shortly after the end of WWII, and has effectively carried on the work of institutionalizing the discrimination through diagnosis initiated by the Nazi eugenics medical program.
CALL TO ACTION #2 –
Institute Research on Trait-Positive Neurodivergence Insights and Confront Neurotypical Research Biases
This includes a call for more research into the fields of neuroscience, sociology and others (including new interdisciplinary collaborations and all-new holistic disciplines, by neurodivergents for neurodivergents) to understand the variances and how to best support their inclusion and development, to map the sources and forms of discrimination and address how to remove systemic/structural violence.
CALL TO ACTION #3 –
Institute Societal Legal Protections for Neurodiversity through International Human Rights Charter
Finally, we need to end this dark chapter where it started for many neurodivergents. This is a call to the United Nations to end these violations of human rights by instituting neurodiversity as a protected category of personhood. It is not enough, nor accurately focused, to have an Autism Awareness Day once a year. It must be broader in terms of inclusion (recognition of neurodiversity and all trait-related neurodivergence), rejecting eugenic medical labels given to a neurological variation by the Nazi medical program, and be remembered/protected every day of the year around the world across all UN members.