Development and Validation of Neurodiversity Attitudes Scale

The neurodiversity movement is a conceptual framework and sociopolitical movement that views neurological differences and disabilities as natural human variations that can form a central component of one’s identity. Despite the attention in disciplines outside of psychology and academia, there has been little attention paid to neurodiversity within counseling psychology. The present study consists of the development and initial validation of a quantitative scale to assess endorsement of a neurodiversity framework with respect to autism. Diverse samples of adults were utilized to conduct exploratory (N = 249) and confirmatory (N = 259) factor analyses, resulting in a three-factor model that demonstrated adequate reliability and validity. Additional analyses revealed that endorsement of the neurodiversity framework is positively correlated with activist engagement and self-esteem, and that endorsement of the neurodiversity framework is negatively correlated with negative attitudes toward people with disabilities. Autistic adults endorsed the neurodiversity framework to a greater extent than neurotypical adults. Implications for psychological research regarding neurodiversity and disability identity are discussed.