Deficit-Based Approach

An approach that focuses primarily on what individuals cannot do, what skills they lack, or what is "wrong" with them, rather than their strengths, abilities, and potential. In disability and accessibility contexts, deficit-based approaches frame disabled people through their impairments and position technology as a remedy for those deficits. This framing can lead to technologies designed to make disabled people approximate neurotypical or non-disabled norms rather than supporting them in ways they find meaningful. Deficit-based language is pervasive in autism tech marketing, which often emphasizes symptoms, challenges, and developmental delays while overlooking autistic strengths and perspectives.