The Defamation Files: The Price of Fame is Envy

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Beginning in March 2024 two prominent figures in the development of the ‘Neurodiversity’ discourse, Dr. Robert J. Chapman and author Nick Walker, together with four lesser‑known acolytes, have launched a disinformation campaign targeting the documented provenance of my coinage and original articulation of the concept of Neurodiversity.

The proof of that articulation first appears in my 1998 Sociology Honours Thesis, which is reproduced in full in my book, Neurodiversity:the Birth of an Idea published concurrently by the UK’s Open University Press (now under the imprimatur of McGraw‑Hill), where the full work is reproduced. See citation

Since March 2024, two figures who came to prominence in the development of the ‘Neurodiversity’ discourse  a quarter century after I coined and se, Robert J. Chapman and Nick Walker, together with four lesser‑known acolytes, have launched a disinformation campaign targeting the documented provenance of my coinage and original articulation of the concept of Neurodiversity in my 1998 Sociology Honours Thesis. See citation

An abridged version of that work was submitted simultaneously as a book chapter for a series "Disability Discourse" published by the Open University Press, now under the imprimatur of McGraw‑Hill, where the full chapter is reproduced.”

At best, for their sake, and my own belief in human decency, I can only hope these people sincerely believe their calumnies, and that this is not simply a sad case of vicious academic rivalry.

The prominent role of Martijn "McDutchie" Dekker

The 6 Contenders rely heavily on the testimony of Martijn "McDutchie" Dekker, a computer programmer with the  technical skills to set up InLv an online email discussion group to which I belong as a Participant Observer. But as far as I can see he has no knowledge of the discipline of sociology.

Dekker has written a blog piece that is a massive and uneducated attack on my work - and dare I say, tinged with resentment and malice, for reasons that are anybody's guess. 

Dekker is  so ignorant of what sociologists actually do that he claims that I "got my ideas" from InLv. 

Not at all. 

I "got" my ideas from Disability Studies and the Social Constructionist Model of Disability 

What I got from InLv was just some of my data. 

Because InLv was far from the only disability group I belonged to. 

I was a member of several other Autism support groups,: Some international, some  Australian,  some online, some face to face: 

Online: 

I was a member of 

• InLv of course, as above. 
• the Leeds University Disability List, the pre-eminent international discussion group for academics and scholars in the Disability Studies field
• Ozautism, an Australian Support Group
• the  Women from Another Planet collective formed to publish a collection of essays by autistic women on their experiences. I wrote the preface to the collection. 
• and a few others whose name I have forgotten - this was 20+ years ago! 

I created 

• ASpar, an online international discussion group, for people raised by Autistic parents. 

In person:

I was 

• the secretary of Sydney and regions largest autism support group, the Inner West Autism and Aspergers Support Group
• an elected director of Shelter NSW the peak body for low income renters. both private and public housing, where I advocated for more research on the relationship between Autism, poverty and homelessness
• the instigator and then co-creator in 2003 of ASteen a social club for autistic teenagers which had around 200 members by the time I handed over the reigns when my daughter was out of her teen. I provided the parameters of the club, which were my insistence that we would be strictly about having fun - fortnightly weekend family outings to fun venues in sSydney and surrounds and camps, and absolutely NOT about trying to change our children. More than 20 years later, I see the club is still going strong! 

My perceptions of InLv

InLv was a support group where people shared narratives basically about sharing our experiences of growing up autistic. But what struck me about this group, was the lack of awareness of the extent to which disability can be socially constructed.  It was not surprising because the Social Model of Disability was not well known in those days, so I was fortunate in discovering Disability Studies in those days.  I believe I made some efforts to respond by adding some insights about the social construction of disability, but on the whole I was glad to be given the space to share my own experiences of exclusion and discrimination as an autist, and I did not wish to preach. 

I salute Martijn Dekker for making this group possible with his technical expertise. Because InLv was the largest of al these groups, and the one in which I participated most,  I decided to ask several members for permission to quote them in my post.  With their agreement, we also decided on aliases for them in work. All who I approached agreed. There was one individual who did wish to be identified, and I honoured that too. I cannot recall now whether they were InLv members or not. 

Please take care to read my line by line refutation of Dekkers calumnies on this blog at Confabulations or Lies? A Correction of Martijn Dekker''s False "Memories".

It is extraordinary that despite the combined intelligence that doctorates should surely confer on these 6 eminent scholars, they have somehow managed to suspend all disbelief at Dekkers clearly unscholarly opinions. Again, it is anyone's guess why they would stoop to this. 

The defamatory and easily-refuted falsehoods of this confederacy have had a huge impost on my time and well-being.While easily refuted with factual evidence, the process is immensely time-consuming, and has created ongoing damage to my health and well-being. 

This gang have managed to get their farrago of misinformation published by the esteemed academic journal Sage Publication. It has taken me months to refute their confabulated and cherry-picked allegations. 

Note that unlike this crew, I possess original documents, while they rely on internet scuttlebutt and their their own wilful imaginations. 

It is so much easier to make up a story than to meticulously refute it,  but it takes a massive effort to disprove it.  Because... 

I am just about finished with my line by line refutations, 

I have made a start on 2 refutations here:

Reflections on the Neurodiversity Paradigm: Sage Journals publish defamatory allegations by Chapman, Walker et al (neurodiversity2.blogspot.com)

Reflections on the Neurodiversity Paradigm: My Response to Martijn Dekker's Libels (neurodiversity2.blogspot.com)

How they display themselves versus the reality

 Draw your own conclusions

Notes

* By "verily" I do not wish to imply that a divinity is speaking. It's just me trying to be humourous. 

A note on Steve Silberman

I am grateful for this article by Steve Silberman for bringing my work to wider attention. 

Sadly Silberman fell for the Transphobia Libel, disseminated it, and refused to discuss it with me. 

For that refusal, I am not feeling forgiving. I see it as evidence of underlying misogyny, a biased willingness to believe derogatory information from a sense of gay victimhood,  and unforgivable for an experienced journalist.