The human spectrum: a position paper

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this research is to investigate the acceptance and support of neurodiverse people in society, with a focus on autism, and to use this to propose a framework to enhance inclusivity that can inform pedagogy within the education sectors.

Design/methodology/approach

Three case studies from higher education have been presented and mapped onto a multi-dimensional spectrum of characteristics normally associated with autistic people. Further examples have been taken from the general population and these have been used, along with user scenarios to propose a framework for inclusivity.

Findings

A framework, the human spectrum, has been proposed which encompasses all of society, regardless of diagnoses and within which people have mobility in terms of their characteristics. It is proposed that this framework should be incorporated into pedagogy in primary, secondary and tertiary education so that teaching and assessment is inclusive and so that people’s understanding of human nature is built from an early age to counter stigma and herd mentality, or othering.

Social implications

The contribution of this paper could have significant implications for society as the framework provides a structure to enable people to consider others with new perspectives.

Originality/value

The framework proposed provides a new and original way of shaping the way people think within the education sector and elsewhere.

Citation

Hopkins, G.T. (2025), "The human spectrum: a position paper", Journal of Applied Research in Higher Education, Vol. 17 No. 1, pp. 6-22. https://doi.org/10.1108/JARHE-05-2023-0176