Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41258721›Full record

ArticlemBio2025

"Why can't you be normal?": an urgent call for social and institutional inclusivity of neurodivergent scientists in STEM workplaces.

John Houston Gardiner

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in mBio, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
0citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

1 author.

John Houston GardinerHuck Institute of the Life Sciences, Penn State University, University Park, Pennsylvania, USA.ORCID 0009-0000-3182-8722

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

The number of autistic people is growing rapidly. Among other traits, autism results in significantly more rational and objective thought patterns, and thus, neurodivergent students pursue education and employment in STEM fields at higher rates. However, autistic scientists experience discrimination and more career setbacks than neurotypical scientists. Despite the myth of scientific meritocracy, there are pervasive social expectations to "behave normally" and "fit in," encouraging the camouflaging of autistic traits, which can contribute to anxiety, depression, and suicidality. The literature is conclusive: it is the obligation not of autistic scientists to change but of their managers, coworkers, administrators, and society to be more inclusive, accommodating, and tolerant of neurodivergent perspectives in work environments.

Indexed as

Autism Spectrum DisorderResearch PersonnelScienceWorkplaceAnxietyDepressionHumansSocial NormsSuicidal IdeationWorking Conditionsautismconduct of scientific researchneurodiversityresearch environments

Identifiers

PMID41258721
PMCPMC12691616

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.