ABSTRACT
Perspectives on neurodiversity are often defined in accordance with Euro-American views that are embedded in the medical developments of neurodiversity. Historical medical terminology such as brain retardation and schizoid psychopaths shape impressions of how neurodivergence is understood in society. This chapter uses medical representations of neurodiversity to discuss how they influence African societal relations, where stereotypical names and labels are often ascribed to conditions that affect brain functioning. Using Ubuntu theoretical perspectives, the chapter draws on African onomastics, disability studies and African humanism to problematise Western epistemological dominance on neurodiversity and its impressions on communal living in Southern Africa. Purposively selected academics were interviewed to obtain expert perspectives on Ubuntu and neurodiversity in Southern Africa. Ultimately, the chapter situates the knowledge and understanding of disability within African humanism and culture; thus, contributing to the conceptual decolonisation of disability studies.
