The Pluralistic Universe of Neurodiversity: Doing New Stories

Aion Arribas; antje nestel

doi:10.21476/PP.2025.102610

Keywords:

doing neurodiversity, autistic perception, architectural body, shy*play, autie-type, Site of Reversible Destiny

Abstract

This essay is a story that began during shy*play's one-month residency in Japan in March 2024. The narrative operates within an unbounded triangle of encounters among ever-forming entities. These include the Site of Reversible Destiny, a park in Japan designed by the architectural duo Arakawa and Gins; the noren—traditional fabric dividers hung in doorways and windows; and shy*play's workshop conducted within a participatory installation at the end of the residency. At the heart of this convergence lies a conception of neurodiversity, serving as the magnetic core that draws these three dimensions into dialogue.

The essay treats bodies, environments, and languages as co-constitutive relations, incorporating concepts from process philosophy and works by neurodivergent thinkers and artists, and it draws on shy*play's writings and poems expressing some of our embodied experiences in Japan. It is a story that attempts to sidestep the neurotypical, oppressive myth that presumes “normal” and “healthy” bodies exemplify traits such as intelligence, competence, intention, speech, proper gait/movement, cognition, and executive function.

Author Biographies

Aion Arribas

Aion Arribas (they/them) is a movement artist, transdisciplinary researcher and teacher. They obtained a bachelor’s degree in Graphic Design from Escuela Numero 10 in Madrid, a second bachelor’s degree in Choreography from SNDO in Amsterdam, and a master’s degree in Fine Arts and Design from KABK in The Hague. Their work dances in between questions of embodiment and bodying, the interplay of creation with auto-theory, and the advancement of a neurodiversity paradigm through creative practices. Along with antje nestel, they co-created shy*play, a collective focused on doing neurodiversity as a relational practice in difference. shy*play is also a project hosted by the Research Lectorate of the Academy of Theater and Dance in Amsterdam (DAS Research) and a THIRD fellow 2024–2026 of the same department.

antje nestel

antje nestel (they/them) is an artist, a teacher, a facilitator of participatory events. They obtained a bachelor’s degree in fine art from Gerrit Rietveld Academy and a research master’s degree in Media, Art and Performance at Utrecht University. antje was also a participant at De ateliers in Amsterdam. Together with Aion Arribas, they have created a collective named shy*play, that focuses on exploring with neurodiversity not as a process of explanation, but as a relational practice in difference. shy*play is also a project hosted by the Research Lectorate of the Academy of Theatre and Dance in Amsterdam (DAS Research) and a THIRD fellow 2024–2026 of the same department.

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