Development and Initial Validation of the Autism and Neurodiversity Attitudes Scale

Background: Drawn from aspects of the autistic self-advocacy movement, the neurodiversity movement is a conceptual framework and sociopolitical movement that views neurological differences and disabilities (e.g., autism) as natural human variations that can form a central component of one's identity. This study presents the development and validation of a scale to assess endorsement of neurodiversity beliefs with respect to autism among both autistic and nonautistic adults.