What do you consider to be neurotypical?

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Someone born and grew up with the neurology of the majority... Neurologically typical.
But what does that exactly mean? Maybe there's something deeper than just the term NT. Something that truly distinguishes NTs from born NDs.
Or maybe not. I'm no scientist.


Behavioral? How would one know?
What if they're not NDs, let alone autistic? Even without any sort of developmental delay or something entirely physical? But NTs who are:

Sufferer of some kind, very likely. Either psychiatric or their personality, or both.

Or brought up somewhere else, or ended up witnessing/thinking of things outside their usual and changed. In otherwords, 'quirky' because of their environment/experiences.

Or just happened to incline at certain things by choice and preferences that are considered as autistic, or anything that is remotely an NT 'profile'.

Do NTs who ended up with permanent brain damage in an accident or a disease considered an NT anymore? Since it meant that they are born and grew up NT.
Except that they're 'formerly NTs' to at least take account of their 'past' experiences or 'past' selves? I don't know what's the term for this.


What's entirely clear to me is that I don't consider neurotypical equals non-dysfunctional.

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I've been reading some self-help websites and I've read a lot from Psychology Today and there seems to be a kind of standard checklist on what makes someone...uhhh, psychologically healthy, I guess?

I do learn a lot from these websites, but sometimes the advice feels like it's written to maintain whatever people consider to be normal. Maybe this can be a thread on it's own, but I think the point I'm trying to make is...

I think it's agreeing and accepting and conforming to whatever this idea for what normal is. I think when we talk about NTs, these are the same people who are more willing to accept and adapt to what normal is and to the social group they are with. So, perhaps it has something to do with group mentality? I'm halfway convinced that a couple of the groups I've been with don't really like going to the places they usually agree to go to, they just like to be a part of something.

When I was back in the US when I was visiting my brother there was a group of people that visited their house and everyone was talking to each other, it was hard for me to keep up with the social dynamics that was going on and my brother noticed so I just had to leave that kind of setting because it just makes me tired.

People have made good points that maybe Neurotypical isn't really that much of a thing or is something that's hard to define, but it seems like society has agreed on what's supposed to be normal, I guess.

I have always known I am autistic and have always been in schools with other autistics. But I never heard the term neurotypical/NT until I joined wrong planet.

Really I think NT basically refers to the 99% of the population who are not autistic. Meaning virtually everyone the autistic person has encountered in their life. And seems to usually be used in a negative way.

NT's seem to mostly be referred to as adversaries. And like some kind of separate species. In my personal opinion NT is mostly a made up term that's used on the internet.

I think Aspies who think 99% of the population are NT have obviously never met a person with afflicting mental disabilities other than autism.

NT -

Someone who can listen to instruction and just 'get it', or if they don't they know straight away exactly what questions to ask. Someone who can just get up and go out without worrying about social/communication failures and just 'know' they're going to have a good time. Someone who isn't afraid to visit a new restaurant because they don't know what the menu's like. Someone who is able to say; "I'm going to clean the house this weekend" and actually do it.

It's very simple - those with NT brains. Brain scans have shown differences between aspie brains, and classic autism brains (and the two differed according to one study at least), and NT brains. Most people are NT.

I see neuroatypical as someone with an uncommon brain type like autism, I mean the basic operating system. So I exclude things like anxiety or depression as being atypical neurotypes, and they can be NT.

An NT is someone with a highly common neurotype, of which the world built itself around.

What is neuroatypical besides autism I don't think is up to me to decide.

I suppose it's one of those things that is like trying to explain the colour blue. Sometimes people are obvious to me that they aren't neurotypical due to a mental disability.

The way I see it, those with autism, Downs, Fragile-X, mental retardation, ADHD, dementia, bipolar, schitzephrenia and probably more, are usually challenged in some way, and these conditions can affect things like finding friends, learning at the average rate, fitting in with peers, finding a job, etc etc.

I believe people with anxiety and depression are neurotypicals, because anxiety and depression are so common among the general population that you've got to draw the line somewhere.

I don't bring things like homosexuality, paedophiles, alcoholism, etc etc into it because although it's to do with the brain these things aren't exactly learning disabilities or disorders that make one vulnerable or challenged.

I went to a special school for mentally challenged teens when i was age 12 to 18 and probably half of them didnt have an asd but were still atypical in their behavior some couldnt even count and had other problems like that.
I remember a girl there with mental retardation who hit everybody and laughed and she had to be strictly taught not to hit people, she also had no independance. I wouldnt think her as neurotypical.

It started out simply being the term for anyone not on the autism spectrum.

Later, it was focused to mean anyone without a defined neurological difference. So being "neurotypical" is a lot less common than it was, but still nominally encompasses the neurological majority.

When I think of what it means to be "neurotypical", I think about people who...
* enjoy watching sports (in case of men) or shopping for clothes (in case of women)
* enjoy small talk
* can't really think for themselves
* prefer emotion and/or faith to reason
* are highly susceptible to groupthink

Restaurant anxiety? Check menu online. If you are vegetarian or gluten free this becomes more important.

I like knowing I'll be able to get something to eat ahead of time.

Someone without any disorder or mental illness.