Redefining the Right to Quality Education for Autistic Children Through a Neurodiverse Perspective

Abstract

This article explores the necessity of and requirements for developing a neurodiverse interpretation of the right to quality education for autistic children. While the debates have so far mostly focused on the questions of access and inclusivity of education, interrogations around the meaning of quality education for autistic children have also started to emerge. Focusing on the individual and identity aims of education, this paper examines the implications that a neurodiverse perspective would hold in developing a better understanding of the right to quality education for autistic children. It argues that to provide quality education to autistic children first and foremost requires respecting their identity, development, and cognitive, social, and communicative functioning, both at the individual and the collective levels.