#The Neurodiversity movement is cultic

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A critic of applied behavior analysis walks into a bar.

You know it, because they tell everyone within five minutes of entering.

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Given the (warranted) suspicion given towards the disease denialism found in both Christian Science and Scientology, it can be said that if the claims of the neurodiversity movement were attached to organized religion, they too would be constantly lambasted.

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The leading figures of neurodiversity are Grandin, Robison, Silberman, Baron-Cohen, and Atwood. All of them are 65 or older, so adherents of the movement will have to consider, "Where do we go from here?"

While one might want to hope that one group keeps the name while abandoning the cultic teaching, like what happened after the death of Herbert W. Armstrong, but most Armstrongists broke fellowship with this reformist faction led by Tkach and continued promoting Armstrongist doctrine.

On the other hand, one might envision a scenario where the group remains, and its teachings do not change substantially, but its numbers and influence wane, like what happened after the death of Mary Baker Eddy. While the disease denialism certainly paints the picture of the neurodiversity movement consisting of Eddy's spiritual descendants, her group was way too small and centralized and she did basically everything possible to avoid splintering.

One might anticipate something similar to the aftermath of Joseph Smith, CT Russell, or Ahn Sahng-hong, where two major groups emerge, or one major group amidst a flurry of smaller groups emerge, each swearing on their life they are promoting their founders' actual teaching. However, again, these movement were way more centralized than the neurodiversity movement.

The best comparison is likely what happened in the years after the deaths of Alexander Campbell and Barton Stone. They engineered a movement that was decentralized by design, so there were several different figures all insisting the others were promoting false ideas. A few major groups have arisen, some more decentralized than others, but their movement is still primarily decentralized.

The likely causes of splintering for the neurodiversity movement in the coming years will likely include functioning labels, which illnesses they think are quirky enough for inclusion under their umbrella, whether to use communication devices and which, the validity of self-diagnosis, how much treatment is too much treatment, and which books and studies fit into the neurodiverse canon.

These are the issues the neurodiversity movement will find itself contending with.

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“Cult” (n.) and “cultic” (adj.)

There is great confusion when describing certain groups and movements as "cultic." Since the most famous examples of cultic groups and movements in living memory include the Manson Family, People’s Temple, the Branch Davidians and Heaven’s Gate, the popular conception of a cult has become a centralized group with one leader with a type-A personality. This is not how most cultic groups take shape.

"Cultic" and "centralized" are not synonyms. They are entirely different concepts, and whether one group or movement is one has no bearing whatsoever on whether it is the other.

The United Pentecostal Church International and Pentecostal Assemblies of the World are both cults. They are part of the Oneness Pentecostal movement*. Note, the UPCI and PAW are not in fellowship with each other and have no official relations. This is because this movement is decentralized, encompassing various different groups that are united in few if any ways besides (some) similar teachings. Whatever leadership and governance model they have, shared or contrasting, is secondary, because Oneness Pentecostalism as a set of doctrines is itself cultic, meaning any group that espouses it is a cult by definition.

Christian Identity is a more pronounced example of a cultic movement that is decentralized. It is a white supremacist group that teaches that white people are the descendants of the ancient Israelites, and that "gentiles" (people who aren't white) can never be saved. Its footprint is almost entirely made of websites, prison gangs, and local congregations, which are not in fellowship with each other or with any larger group. I would hope any decent person would be opposed to this movement and its teachings, but an attempt to treat "cultic" and "centralized" as synonyms might keep one from recognizing CI as something that should be avoided.

Other decentralized movements that are cultic include the Word of Faith movement, the Men's Right Movement, dispensationalism, neurodiversity, the Sovereign Citizens movement, BDSM, the New IFB, kinism, and the Black Hebrew Israelites. Every group that is part of these is a cult, thought they may not be in fellowship with other groups within the same movement.

*The Oneness Pentecostal movement is not representative of Pentecostalism as a whole. Most of the world's Pentecostals belong to the Assemblies of God which has taught the Trinity for its entire existence. Pentecostalism is not necessarily cultic. Oneness Pentecostalism is.

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Illness is a real thing. Illness can affect any part of anyone's body at any time. Illness can be, and often is, inborn. Illness can be, and often is, lifelong. Pursuing healthy lifestyles can lessen, but never eliminate, the possibility of illness, including permanent illness. The brain, being as much a part of the body as the foot or the spleen, can also suffer illness, in this case a mental illness.

The neurodiversity movement generally denies the existence of mental illness. Its adherents is uncomfortable with the fact that there are things that are expected of most people that the mentally ill are unable to perform, cradle to grave. Therefore, it retreats in medical denialism, calling mental illnesses "neurotypes."

The Word of Faith movement does not deny illness, but instead says that if someone lives in a certain way or says certain things, that they can be healed of various ailments. This includes dismemberment, chromosomal disorders, and, in extreme cases, death. Their attempts at ridding the world of illness has proven fruitless

The neurodiversity and Word of Faith movements are two cultic sides of the same denialist, escapist coin. Illness is a fact of life, and a fact of some people's entire lives. Sometimes it can be healed, and sometimes it cannot. Denying its existence does not improve anyone's life, and neither do lies about the ability to miraculously cure it. What the ill, including the mentally ill, need is compassion and assistance.

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Terminology as a cultic marketing tactic

Oftentimes, cults and cultic movements will use flowery names for themselves in order to silence criticism. For example, the concept of neurodiversity, the existence of more than one distinct neurotypes among humans, is real. But a particular movement that promotes pseudoscience has taken the name "neurodiversity" for themselves. In this way, they can insist that any criticism of the movement is a denial of the concept. It is an offensive tactic, as a casual observer would likely not take the time to do the research and realize that the movement and concept are two entirely different things.

Other examples include:

Humanism: Since it has "human" in the name, humanists will paint their critics as misanthropic.

Men's rights: Since the movement has "men" and "rights" in the name, MRAs will paint their critics as haters of men (including male critics), or haters of rights. The same applies to men's liberation.

Transgenderism/trans rights: Since the movement has "transgender" in the name, transgenderists and TRAs will paint their critics as "hateful" towards trans people.

All Lives Matter: Since the movement has "all lives" in the name, its adherents will paint their critics as being misanthropic or apathetic towards people's lives, for much the same reason as humanists.

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“Autism patient 0 memorized Psalm 23 and part of a catechism!“

The first person on record to be given a diagnosis of autism was Donald Triplett, born 1933. He was diagnosed sometime during his early childhood by Leo Kanner. Two of the things Kanner noticed about Triplett have been echoed by neurodiversity advocates for years: that Triplett knew several questions and answers from an unspecified Presbyterian catechism from a young age and that he knew Psalm 23 from a young age. Like Triplett, I was also raised Presbyterian and showed exceptional memory from a young age, and I don’t think either of these “feats” is as impressive as Kanner and subsequent researchers have implied. For those not in the know, catechesis is the act of imparting doctrine. A work written to perform this act is known as a catechism and usually comes in the form of a list of questions and answers. Think of catechisms as doctrinal FAQs. In the 1640s, during a period of great religious tumult in the British Isles, a group of ministers gathered at Westminster Abbey to write doctrinal statements to be used by a state church throughout Britain. These are known as the Westminster Standards, and include a Confession of Faith, a Larger Catechism, and a Shorter Catechism. Presbyterians and nonconformists with similar views made a large portion of the Westminster Assembly, so that even while a permanent union between the Church of England and Church of Scotland was thwarted by the restoration of the British monarchy, Presbyterians have continued to use the Westminster Standards. Donald Triplett was born and has spent practically his whole life in Mississippi. The Presbyterian Church of the United States was the primary Presbyterian body that existed in the southern US during Triplett’s childhood, and at the time was still using the Westminster Standards*. This means that Triplett was almost certainly raised on the Westminster Larger and Shorter Catechisms. I don’t expect Kanner or many advocates of the neurodiversity movement to know these things. Kanner was Jewish, as are Simon Baron Cohen**, Steve Silberman, and Ari Ne’eman. John Elder Robison claims to reject organized religion (despite being a leading figure of the neurodiversity movement, which many have described as cultic). Temple Grandin is a lapsed Episcopalian with idiosyncratic spiritual beliefs, and I do not know of any of the other major players of neurodiversity publicly stating their religious beliefs (if they even hold any). Jewish “catechisms” exist, but are of recent origin and not commonly used. While the Book of Common Prayer (nominally a standard within the Episcopal Church) contains a catechism, it is unlikely that Grandin would have been exposed to it often during her childhood. The reason I am unimpressed with Triplett’s “precocious feat” is simply that catechisms are written specifically to be memorized. That is literally their exact purpose. The first question and answer in the Westminster Larger Catechism has become a shibboleth among Presbyterians. Triplett’s other “precocious feat” was the memorization of Psalm 23. The Psalms are poetic. They follow certain syllabic meters; while they are mostly lost in translation, it is still common for translations of the Psalms to have line breaks similar to how they were originally written. This is also one of the most common Psalms to be read aloud in churches. I remember being in a church in the Chinese city of Changchun in 2019 and immediately recognizing the first line being said in Mandarin. Furthermore, there is a long tradition of adapting the Psalms to meter in Presbyterianism, meaning that Triplett would have very easily been exposed to one or more sung variant of Psalm 23 in church. Hymnals likely used by the PCUS in Triplett’s early childhood would have included The King of Love My Shepherd Is and The Lord is my Shepherd (also here, and here), assisting in the memorization. Memorizing something meant to be memorized is not some “precocious feat.” Memorizing something you hear over and over, spoken and sung, is also not some “precocious feat.” Regular people do both unconsciously, from a very young age. Just because the memorization is part and parcel to a religious tradition you are not familiar with does not make it impressive.

*The Presbyterian Church in the Confederate States of America was formed out of southern churches during the American Civil War, and was renamed the Presbyterian Church in the United States after the war ended; it would continue to use this name for the rest of its existence. It was, until 1983, a distinct body from the similarly-named Presbyterian Church in the USA. I consider it the most likely candidate for the denomination Triplett grew up in, but all other Presbyterian denominations active in the South during the mid 1930s were using the Westminster Catechisms, except for the Cumberland Presbyterian Church, which has its own catechism. Given Triplett's socioeconomic background, it is less likely his family would have belonged to the Cumberland Presbyterian Church. The Orthodox Presbyterian Church, Presbyterian Church in America, Evangelical Presbyterian Church, and Evangelical Covenantal Order did not exist yet. The Reformed Presbyterian Church of North America, Reformed Presbyterian Church - General Synod, and PCUSA had minimal presence in the South, and the United Presbyterian Church of North America never had any presence in the South. The Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church is the next most likely denomination for the Tripletts to have attended besides the PCUS. **Not to be confused with his cousin Sasha, of Borat fame.