I'm Ana María and I'm a 3E (gifted + autistic + Latina) interculturalist, linguist, and former civil rights worker. Today, I call myself a neurofuturist.
This website is where I share the ideas, frameworks, and learning experiences that I'm creating as I develop an alternative approach to neurodivergence- a neurocultural approach- to help inform, challenge, and evolve current dominant medical/scientific approaches to neurodivergence.
Grounded in speculative, futurist, and punk ways of promoting change, I weave together many academic and creative tools and disciplines in my work. You can learn more about my approach here.
Fundamentally, I believe in neurodivergent people's right to be different, be whole, and belong.
About you
My work is designed for providers, leaders, advocates, and professionals (of all neurotypes) who are interested in learning to:
- Reduce/prevent harmful practices and approaches to neurodivergence
- Defend neurodivergent people's right to be (and behave) differently
- Promote radical social and systemic change for neurodivergent people
If you've begun to feel restless and ready to reimagine what's possible in the field of neurodiversity, then you've come to the right place.
A bit about my background
🗣️ I worked for 8+ years facilitating hundreds of conversations
… across language (and cultural) differences, and trained interpreters representing more 40+ languages to do the same.
⚙️ I designed & implemented language access systems
… inside a large public school district and a refugee resettlement organization, to ensure they provided adequate language access per Title VI of the Civil Rights Act.
🌏 I studied intercultural communication theory
… and integrated it into my interpreter training practice, as well as my own approach to communication as a neurodivergent person.
📚 I have a Master's in Spanish linguistics
… where I focused my studies on sociolinguistics and politeness theory. I also have several certificates in interpretation and translation studies.
My focus* today
* and primary special interest
My life is dedicated to exploring ways to promote radical social and systemic change for neurodivergent people by reimagining our approach to neurodivergent communication.
My work is a mindful, deeply transformational process that aims to dismantle the harmful (ethnocentric) ways we expect and teach neurodivergent people to communicate.
A note about my approach to neurodivergence
I think & work outside of the medical model.
My expertise is in civil rights, language, culture, and the communicative spaces where they all meet.
While my work draws, in part, from academic fields like linguistics and intercultural communication, I also use methods and insights from less traditional disciplines such as gentle activism, teaching artistry, and literature genres like magical realism, and science fiction.
I explore ways to anchor neurodivergence outside of the medical model, as a culture, and to sever the pathologizing influence of current approaches to neurodivergent communication from the non-medical act (and corresponding behaviors) of communication.
What I DON'T do
This work does not seek to explain the causes of neurodivergence or offer treatment. Instead, it begins with the premise that neurodivergent people already exist—and always have. We explore how to create environments, relationships, and systems where neurodivergent communication is recognized as a meaningful part of human diversity, not a deficit.
While medical and scientific research may continue to ask “why,” this space focuses on “how”—how we collaborate, connect, and build equitable futures together. The frameworks here are designed to support educators, professionals, and allies in creating neuro-affirming practices grounded in care, clarity, and co-creation.