Judy Singer

Judy Singer is an Australian sociologist. She is recognized as being instrumental in the development of a the concept of Neurodiversity while an honours student at the University of Technology Sydney in 1997-8.

Her study was the first sociological work to inquire into the social context of the emergence of a new kind of disability, the “Autistic Spectrum”. In her work, Judy anticipated the emergence of a “Politics of Neurodiversity”. Her research was based on her experiences “in the middle of 3 generations of women somewhere on the ‘Spectrum’”, and on her membership of early Asperger egroups as a participant observer.

Being unable to get recognition for her work in Australia, Judy abandoned academia and put her energies into grassroots organizing around her family’s support needs. Online, she founded the world’s first support group for the (adult) children of autistic parents. In Sydney, Judy co-founded ASteen, Sydney’s only family-run social club for Asperger teenagers, and devoted herself to advocacy for public housing and social security rights.