Allistic is slightly different from neurotypical

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According to most people on WP, NT means every person who doesn't have an ASD, so basically people with severe intellectual disabilities and developmental delays that can't talk or live independently are more normal than me, just because their disability isn't autism or Asperger's.

I live with my NT boyfriend, I'm in employment and I'm independent, but according to some Aspies I'm atypical compared to my neighbour's son who is around the same age as me but is in a care home because he has severe intellectual disability (used to be called "mental retardation" but I don't think we're allowed to use that term any more), because I have an ASD and he doesn't.
I've seen him before, he's also got cerebral palsy so has a wheelchair but he has never spoken a word in his life. All he does is shout, and has no knowledge of anything, and is obviously unable to even follow a conversation. Yes he might make eye contact and smile and point happily at things but as an Aspie I still exhibit more social skills than him. He waves to strangers and if they respond he gets excited and flaps his hands, but even if they make fun of him he still thinks they are being nice and he still flaps his hands excitedly. To him, the world is a trustful, friendly place. He's very naive and blissfully unaware of lots of subtle non-verbal language. He will probably never be able to work or get a girlfriend. I don't even think he knows what romance is. Or even if he does he doesn't know how to express because he's not developed socially, emotionally or intellectually beyond the age of 1.

This guy is allistic, but not neurotypical. Neurotypical means "standard brain wiring", and a person with intellectual disability doesn't have the typical brain wiring.

Last edited by Joe90 on 19 Mar 2021, 6:47 pm, edited 1 time in total.

Does this need to be in The Haven?

Yes, because of all the disorders I could have been born with I had to have the only disorder in the whole world that is outside the neurotypical bubble.

Yes. I found that out that the NT term does not cover all those who are not on the spectrum and allistic is a term which does cover anyone who is not autistic.

The confusion comes because neurotypical sounds and seems like it is a general opposite to neurodiverse and in a way it is just rhat, but in another aay it is not the wholw picture, like you say... And what about those who sit somewhere in the middle? Interesting isn't it?

This is correct.

NT means healthy allistic imo.

Not that being autistic is automatically unhealthy but most other things are eg anxiety disorders or depression etc.

Neurodiverse doesn't mean autistic.

Autism is one form of neurodiversity.

Someone could be neutotypical, have a nervous breakdown and become neurodiverse.

When I say "NT" on this site, I am not including people with autism, downs syndrome, Fragile-X syndrome, dementia, schizophrenia, ADHD, intellectual disabilities, and other developmental disorders or mental illnesses or brain diseases.
People with general anxiety disorder or depression or OCD are still in the NT group as those are too common among the human population to be classed as non-NT, unless their disorder is so bad that they're sent to a psych ward or mental hospital. I don't know if bipolar counts as NT or not. I'm not very educated on bipolar but if a person with bipolar is practically "normal" when on meds then they will probably slip through the cracks into the NT category.

Neurological disorders are different from physical illnesses, so comparing the two isn't very accurate. Some people might say "a diabetic on meds is still a diabetic", but neurological disorders and differences are far more complex. So basically if your brain is wired the "correct" way, you're neurotypical. Things like alcoholism don't really count, as it's more of a lifestyle than a neurology.
Most neurodiversities are what people are born with, but some can develop in a person's life, such as some forms of brain damage, Parkinson's or dementia, or something else that can trigger neurotic antisocial behaviour that could affect the person's functioning.

Typical = standard, usual

It's a bit like everyone who speaks Polish calling all non-Polish-speakers English-speakers because English is the most common language. There are other languages too besides Polish and English.

That is interesting.

Autism in its many forms is where brain signals do not make it. In theory it could be one brain signal if in a certain place or a few or lots as the case my be but these traits that are caused by the brain signals that don't make it have to be noticeable enough (Or severe enough) and enough of them (If less severe) before the assessor proclaims one is on the spectrum (This is as far as I understand it), because as I understand it, many people may share the odd trait, but may not have them severe wnough or enough of them to be classed as being on the spectrum.

Bipolar is different. Some autism traits can mirror bipolar symptoms. Bipolar is caused by a chemical imbalance in the brain. This is why it can be controlled with medication as the medication is designed to adjust the chemicals in the brain so the individual will not hit the bipolar extremes.
(And to save confusion as in the past not knowing what bipolar is, I used to assume that it had something to do with having a split personality which it does not).
With bipolar, due to the chemical imbalances, the individual (If not on medication) goes from a high to a low in their mood. From being depressed to the other extreme of being ultra excited and happy. Now some on the spectrum can also have these mood swings, but I read that the difference is that if the mood swings are related to autism, the individual tends to get these mood swings several times a day or more, while with bipolar it typically takes three or four days for the individual to go from an extreme high to an extreme low as with the chemical imbalance of the brain it takes a while before it changes. (From what I understand).
It was common for many on the autism spectrum to be missdiagnosed with bipolar which is a big problem because the bipolar medication will make things worse because their brain is not chemically imballanced, but the mwdication means that on top of their autism traits, they also now have a medically induced chemical imbalance in the brain to deal with! So it is important to be correctly diagnosed. (Of course, it is certainly possible for an individual to have both conditions which can't be easy!). But the good news with bipolar is that with the right medication it can be brought under control. Unfortunately for autism, one can only medicate to deal with other issues associated with the traits (Example is to use medication to surpress anxiety).

The other brain condition that I read about are fits. When someone is prone to having epeleptic fits (Or fits), their brain signals are short circuiting. It is why while having the fit the individuals body starts twitching out of control. Their brain is short citcuiling and causing these random movements. (The brain is under normal circumstances able to tell the body what to do and be fully in control, but understandably, when the individual is having a fit, the brain signals are short circuiting and heading all over the place which causes seemingly random body movements where the individual looses control which must be quite scary to be in that situation!)

That is silly.

People with my level of mental illness can't work.

If I was allistic I couldn't work.

In fact being autistic was never enough on its own to allow for ESA.

I do not think it is normal to go around the street constantly hearing people laughing at you or whispering. I do not think that healthy or average people have anxiety to that extent.

I think you're mistaking sadness and nerves for depression and anxiety.

Neuro = brain.

The rest is obvious, typical means average, diverse means different to average.

I don't even like people who choose to be drunks but that comes across as offensive tbh.

Once it reaches a certain point it isn't a lifestyle anymore. It's an addiction they need to keep up. An illness.

I did elaborate the difference between sadness/nerves/depression/anxiety and actual mental illness.

Mind you, I constantly think people are judging me, laughing at me, staring at me, whispering about it whenever I'm out. I used to be so severe that I almost committed suicide over it. Sertraline has helped me deal with it, although the anxiety is still there but just not as bad. I'm also extremely sensitive, like if I get insulted by a troll on Youtube or Facebook, I get really upset and feel humiliated to the point where it sometimes triggers a panic attack.

Alcoholism can become an illness but it is still categorized differently than things like autism and downs syndrome. Alcoholism usually starts somewhere, and although it is an illness, it's still a lifestyle, but not a choice once it becomes an illness.

And homosexuality is a sexual orientation, not a neurological disorder. So I don't categorize any sexual orientation with neurological disorders.

A quick check of authoritative dictionary websites Cambridge Dictionary and Dictionary.com gives the broader definition of "neurodivergent" to include conditions other than ASD and the narrower definition of "neurotypical" to exclude those with other, unspecified neurodivergent conditions.

Allistic, which is only in Cambridge, is defined as non-autistic.

My Chrome browser default spell checker did not recognize either neurodivergent or allistic. Changing the "languages- spell check" setting from "US English" to "English" did add those words. Changing the setting to "Enhanced spell check Uses the same spell checker that’s used in Google search. Text you type in the browser is sent to Google" did add both words. But of course use that setting and Google will own you . I added the words to the browser dictionary instead.

I'd never heard the term allistic until I read this thread. Is it literally just autistic people who aren't allistic or are people with ADHD not allistic too?

I was just wondering if there was a "Piss off and stop spying on me, Google" setting.