Pathology Lite

Black-and-white image titled “Pathology Lite.” The subtitle reads, “Risky ways that scientific discourse and practice can subtly reinforce harm against neurodivergent people.” Quote by Ombre Tarragnat. Below the text are two photos side by side. On the left, a person with long hair tied back stands facing a wall clock, viewed from behind, wearing a hospital-style gown. On the right, a bulletin board displays a small handwritten note reading “DON’T SAY: PRISON, PRISONERS, GUARDIANS / SAY: CLINIC, PATIENTS, THERAPISTS.” The Stimpunks logo—a black umbrella over the word “STIMPUNKS”—appears at the bottom.

Pathology lite complements the now well-known concept of neurodiversity lite. It highlights equally risky ways that scientific discourse and practice can subtly reinforce harm against neurodivergent people, often without being described as such.

In the emerging field of critical neurodiversity studies (Ashley, Creechan, and Jones, n. d.; Bergenmar, Creechan, and Stenning 2025; ND Hums Network, n. d.), the phrase ‘neurodiversity lite’ has been used to describe rhetorical practices of assimilation and neutralisation of the neurodiversity lexicon (and of its critical and subversive potentials) by mainstream actors in psychological, economic, or institutional spheres (Neumeier 2018).

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