Lead Kindly Light: Neurodiversity, Autism, and Good Governance

Human neurodiversity matters. Neurodivergence and neurodiversity are fundamental characteristics of the (human) population. The essential nature of this diversity means that the quality of government and governance is unavoidably affected by approaches taken to neuroinclusion in the cultural, political, and economic spaces of current societies. Public administration cannot avoid being both entangled with the construction of neuroinclusion and affected in practice by neurodivergence and neurodiversity. Using the case of autism politics and policy, this article explores selected examples of contestations in policy narratives, neuroethical policy gaps, and persistent myths surrounding neurodiversity and neuroinclusion affecting the practice of contemporary public administration.