Chen2026b
| Chen2026b | |
|---|---|
| BibType | INCOLLECTION |
| Key | Chen2026b |
| Author(s) | Rachel S. Y. Chen |
| Title | CA and neurodiversity |
| Editor(s) | Matthew Burdelski, Tim Greer |
| Tag(s) | EMCA, neurodiversity |
| Publisher | Routledge |
| Year | 2026 |
| Language | English |
| City | London |
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| Pages | 606–621 |
| URL | Link |
| DOI | 10.4324/9781032720852-42 |
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| Howpublished | |
| Book title | The Routledge Handbook of Conversation Analysis |
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Abstract
This chapter explores how conversation analysis (CA) and the neurodiversity paradigm can mutually inform each other. Early work on “atypical interaction” often reinforced a hierarchy that positioned neurotypical communication as the norm. In contrast, the neurodiversity paradigm challenges deficit-based assumptions, reframing neurodivergent communicative practices as systematic, meaningful, and socially situated. Drawing on microanalyses of social interaction, CA demonstrates how competence is collaboratively achieved, how asymmetries in participation can emerge, and how neurodivergent communicative practices (such as stimming and echolalia) constitute creative forms of sociality. In doing so, CA illuminates the interactional achievements of neurodivergent individuals and the role of co-participants in enabling or constraining participation. By positioning neurodiversity as integral to CA and recognizing CA’s role in revealing the richness of neurodivergent interaction, this chapter underscores their reciprocal potential to deepen the study of social interaction and advance inclusive practices.
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