Neurodivergence and Fandom

Related terms:
See also:	Ableism in Fandom, Disability fic, Autism and Fandom, ADHD and Fandom, Mental Disorders in Fanworks, OCD and Fandom, Dissociation, Plurality and Fandom
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Neurodivergence refers to a spectrum of neurological differences and disabilities that affect how individuals perceive, experience, process, and interact with the world.

The scope of neurodivergence can become a subject of debate, with the inclusivity of the term sometimes differing depending on the user. However, the person credited with first coining the term neurodivergent, Kassiane Asasumasu, always intended for it to be a widely inclusive tool . From this perspective, neurodivergence may cover neurological differences such as autism, ADHD, Tourette Syndrome, dyspraxia, schizophrenia, dementia, personality disorders, and various intellectual and learning disabilities, among many others.

Neurodivergent fans are widely considered to make up a considerable amount of the fanbase within many fandoms.

I've seen discussions sometimes about how fanfiction-based fandom culture is heavily influenced and dominated by people who are not cis men.

One thing I haven't seen discussed as much though is how much of fandom in general is shaped by neurodivergent people.

I mean, you have autistic and ADHD people with special interests or hyperfixations collecting information and writing detailed meta, connecting very strongly with characters and fandoms. I would not be surprised if the percentage of autistics in fandom communities was significantly higher than in the general public.

And that's not even getting into other types of neurodivergencies and how they influence fandom culture.

autisticchangeling

Fandom as a Neurodivergent Space

Some fans have found, both in recent years and many decades ago, that fandom as a space has often seemed more neurodivergent friendly than other social spaces.

I do see a lot of ways in which fandom is exciting and welcoming to disabled people, especially neurodivergent people, because a thing that I noticed is that it’s really easy for fandom to become a hyperfocus for people with autism and ADHD, and it’s a really welcoming environment for that kind of hyperfocus, because we can talk about those things in depth, and it’s welcomed, and we can make art and write fanfic and cosplay, and it’s considered a positive thing, in a way that’s not really treated the same in other aspects of life.

@mayarab 

Others are less sure of this position, with some fans feeling that in more recent years, neurodivergent fans are being pushed out of fandom spaces as more people become involved in fannish activities and judge the activities of neurodivergent fans.

But then... fandom got mainstreamed. It became socially acceptable. And then the neurotypicals started showing up in large numbers. And instead of assimilating like they did before, when they were the minority, now that there were a lot of them they started going “what the heck is this! why are people here acting so weird! this is embarrassing!”

...and then we got cringe culture within fandom.

No one says “squee” anymore not because fans don’t squee anymore - happy stims don’t just go away - but because the neurotypicals showed up and told us “squee” is a cringy word and concept. Which they had ALWAYS told us out in public, but we used to have fandom as an insular autistic/ADHD-dominated space where we were safe and free to be ourselves.

mycroftrh 

Neurodivergent Representation and Headcanons in Fandom

Neurotypical Fans Reactions to Neurodivergent Characters

Oftentimes when interacting with canonically neurodivergent characters, neurotypical fans will ignore the characters disability or play into harmful stereotypes and tropes.

For example characters with ADHD are often characterized as “dumb” or “stupid” even if these character traits are not present in canon.

This can be incredibly harmful to fans with those disabilities with the perpetuation of demeening stereotypes.