Zamir Kadodia

Miranda Fricker’s concept of “epistemic injustice” has been crucial in revealing how identity prejudice can wrong individuals in their capacity as knowers. Yet this framework implicitly presupposes neurotypical norms of social communication and interaction as the baseline of epistemic exchange. In this paper, we argue that such presuppositions obscure how epistemic injustices against neurodivergent people often emerge not through identity prejudice but rather through socio-material environments that privilege certain neurotypes over others. Drawing on frameworks such as the neurodiversity paradigm and niche construction theory, we reframe the concept of epistemic injustice as a distributed phenomenon that is enacted through the interaction of cognitive agents, cultural practices, and material affordances to accommodate these more structural forms of epistemic injustice. In particular, we argue that José Medina’s concept of “meta-lucidity” can be used as a methodological resource for reconstructing epistemic niches such that neurodivergent perspectives are given a role in co-constituting the fabric of a “neurodiversified” social imagination.

Music therapy for autism has historically been guided by a “pathology paradigm” that aims to normalize autistic people in line with neuronormativity. The neurodiversity movement has initiated a paradigm shift towards more neuro-affirming practices. However, music therapy would benefit from a more robust theoretical grounding to guide this neuro-affirming transition. We address this gap by putting forward an enactive account of autistic musical engagement—grounded in the neurodiversity paradigm—that avoids pathological framing. Drawing on first-person reports from recent qualitative studies, we discuss how autistic people use music in everyday life for emotional regulation, identity construction, and social connection, while also noting how music can sometimes clash with autistic sensory sensitivities and agency. From this enactive perspective, autistic styles of musical engagement are revealed not as a set of symptoms to be managed but as vital dimensions of sense-making. We conclude by deriving some core principles to guide the development of neuro-affirming music therapies and inclusive live music events, creating spaces for autistic flourishing.