Neurodiversity May 10th, 2025 at 2:30PM Future Event What counts as a deficit? I can’t do sums in my head. I’m terrible at recognizing people’s faces. I can’t carry a tune and meanwhile truffles make me gag. I am so very overweight. Please don’t stand so close to me! I’m exacting about certain things, and this doesn’t always sit so well with others. It drives me nuts when people don’t complete their The concept of neurodiversity was first invoked in the 1990s by the Australian sociologist Judy Singer, to engage us more deeply with the experience of individuals with autism. The idea quickly expanded to include ADHD and related learning disorders. This line of thought encourages us, the newly dubbed “neurotypical”, to take stock of the ways we all fall short at times, and as a point of comparison to observe how our own struggles can be rousing, or tedious, or demoralizing. When and if it seems fitting, who’ll be there to lend a hand? Do I want the assist or does that assistance only highlight some troubled feelings I have about myself? If you know what it’s like to be bad at foreign languages, to have two left feet, or to kill every plant you touch, then you are also likely to tolerate these traits in others. But what of folks who struggle in very different and unusual ways? Can we approach but not condescend to such individuals, and can we be curious about their unique engagement with the world? Neurodiversity, the concept, serves to cleave empathy from sympathy. Responding to neurodevelopmental variability is not an easy matter and so there is no simple manual for how it should be done. Empathy can be a creative and dynamic process, and as with any challenge, doing it well ought to be its own reward. This roundtable will discuss the varieties of human neurodiversity and the resources that might be brought to bear on the related struggles that inevitably arise. And for each individual case, how far should we go and how do we know when we’ve done enough but not too much? Participants: Inge-Marie Eigsti Professor of Clinical Psychology, Department of Psychological Sciences, University of Connecticut Director of Research for the Institute for Brain and Cognitive Sciences Inge-Marie Eigsti, Ph.D., is Professor of Clinical Psychology in the Department of Psychological Sciences at the University of Connecticut, and Director of Research for the Institute for Brain and Cognitive Sciences. Prof. Eigsti received doctoral degrees in clinical psychology and brain and cognitive sciences from the University of Rochester. After completing postdoctoral training in pediatric neuroimaging at Columbia University, she joined the… read more » Claudia Lugo-Candelas Florence Irving Associate Professor of Medical Psychology (in Psychiatry), Columbia University Medical Center/New York State Psychiatric Institute Claudia Lugo-Candelas, Ph.D., is a licensed clinical psychologist specializing in the perinatal programming of risk and resilience for neurodevelopmental disorders. She obtained a B.A. from the University of Puerto Rico, Rio Piedras, a Ph.D. in clinical psychology from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, and completed her clinical internship at the NYC Health + Hospitals/Lincoln. Dr. Lugo-Candelas completed… read more » Amy Lutz Historian of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania Vice-President, National Council on Severe Autism (NCSA) Amy S.F. Lutz, PhD is a historian of medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, the Vice-President of the National Council on Severe Autism (NCSA), and the parent of a profoundly autistic son, Jonah, 26. She has written about profound autism for many journals, including The American Journal of Bioethics, The Hastings Center Bioethics Forum, Autism Research and Frontiers… read more » Susan Sherkow Training and Supervising Analyst, NYPSI Adjunct Clinical Professor of Psychiatry at Mount Sinai College of Medicine Clinical Assistant Professor, Albert Einstein College of Medicine Founder/Director, The Sherkow Center for Child Development and Autism Spectrum Disorder View Papers / Presentations » Susan P. Sherkow, M.D. is a Training and Supervising Adult and Child Analyst at both the New York Psychoanalytic Institute (NYPSI) and The Berkshire Psychoanalytic Society. She is on the faculties of Mount Sinai and Albert Einstein Colleges of Medicine, is the recent past President of Association for Child Psychoanalysis, and is the Chairman of the Faculty… read more » David Sulzer Professor of Psychiatry, Neurology, Pharmacology, Columbia University & New York State Psychiatric Institute Dave Sulzer is a professor of Psychiatry, Neurology, Pharmacology, and at the School of the Arts at Columbia University and New York State Psychiatric Institute. He received a PhD in biology from Columbia University. His lab has published over 250 studies on synaptic function, particularly of the basal ganglia and dopamine systems, and neuroimmunology, in… read more »
Inge-Marie Eigsti Professor of Clinical Psychology, Department of Psychological Sciences, University of Connecticut Director of Research for the Institute for Brain and Cognitive Sciences Inge-Marie Eigsti, Ph.D., is Professor of Clinical Psychology in the Department of Psychological Sciences at the University of Connecticut, and Director of Research for the Institute for Brain and Cognitive Sciences. Prof. Eigsti received doctoral degrees in clinical psychology and brain and cognitive sciences from the University of Rochester. After completing postdoctoral training in pediatric neuroimaging at Columbia University, she joined the… read more »
Claudia Lugo-Candelas Florence Irving Associate Professor of Medical Psychology (in Psychiatry), Columbia University Medical Center/New York State Psychiatric Institute Claudia Lugo-Candelas, Ph.D., is a licensed clinical psychologist specializing in the perinatal programming of risk and resilience for neurodevelopmental disorders. She obtained a B.A. from the University of Puerto Rico, Rio Piedras, a Ph.D. in clinical psychology from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, and completed her clinical internship at the NYC Health + Hospitals/Lincoln. Dr. Lugo-Candelas completed… read more »
Amy Lutz Historian of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania Vice-President, National Council on Severe Autism (NCSA) Amy S.F. Lutz, PhD is a historian of medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, the Vice-President of the National Council on Severe Autism (NCSA), and the parent of a profoundly autistic son, Jonah, 26. She has written about profound autism for many journals, including The American Journal of Bioethics, The Hastings Center Bioethics Forum, Autism Research and Frontiers… read more »
Susan Sherkow Training and Supervising Analyst, NYPSI Adjunct Clinical Professor of Psychiatry at Mount Sinai College of Medicine Clinical Assistant Professor, Albert Einstein College of Medicine Founder/Director, The Sherkow Center for Child Development and Autism Spectrum Disorder View Papers / Presentations » Susan P. Sherkow, M.D. is a Training and Supervising Adult and Child Analyst at both the New York Psychoanalytic Institute (NYPSI) and The Berkshire Psychoanalytic Society. She is on the faculties of Mount Sinai and Albert Einstein Colleges of Medicine, is the recent past President of Association for Child Psychoanalysis, and is the Chairman of the Faculty… read more »
David Sulzer Professor of Psychiatry, Neurology, Pharmacology, Columbia University & New York State Psychiatric Institute Dave Sulzer is a professor of Psychiatry, Neurology, Pharmacology, and at the School of the Arts at Columbia University and New York State Psychiatric Institute. He received a PhD in biology from Columbia University. His lab has published over 250 studies on synaptic function, particularly of the basal ganglia and dopamine systems, and neuroimmunology, in… read more »