Deconstructing Discourses on Neurodivergence and Extremism: Challenging Practitioner Perspectives on Risk, Bias and Online Vulnerability

This article critically interrogates how neurodivergent individuals are conceptualised within the UK's counter-terrorism landscape, particularly in the context of growing anxieties around online extremism. Drawing upon qualitative interviews with UK counter-terrorism practitioners, the study reveals a deficit-oriented understanding of neurodiversity that positions neurodivergent people as inherently more susceptible to extremist ideologies. These narratives pathologise specifically autism-related traits by framing them as risk factors, and in doing so reinforce harmful stereotypes and constrain possibilities for more nuanced engagement. Situating its findings within broader critiques of the UK's Prevent strategy, the article draws parallels with the racialised surveillance of Muslim communities. It argues that, although the dynamics differ, neurodivergent individuals are similarly cast as disproportionately ‘at risk’ within safeguarding regimes. In both cases, institutional practices misattribute risk to intrinsic characteristics, undermining trust and restricting access to appropriate support. The paper calls for a radical reframing of vulnerability that rejects biologically deterministic understandings of identity, in favour of those that advance neuro-affirming, culturally responsive approaches rooted within abolitionist principles.