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Joe90
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21 Feb 2022, 9:41 am

Since most Aspies here think that everyone not on the autism spectrum are neurotypicals, I have a little challenge for you.

Today I went with my boyfriend and his sister to see her friend. Her friend had a 20-year-old daughter she cared for who was born with severe brain damage and cerebral palsy. She required a wheelchair when out because she couldn't walk, and when indoors she had a special chair to half-sit and half-lay in, decorated with brightly-coloured pictures and sensory toys. Although she wasn't blind, she couldn't even make eye contact. She'd just stare with her mouth gaped open, and make loud noises like a baby. She had to be spoon fed and needed diapers. She was small and petite for her age, the size of a 10-year-old, but otherwise looked healthy.
She literally had zero social and intellectual skills. It was like she was a newborn forever.

I wouldn't say she's neurotypical. She has much less social skills than me, if any at all. Probably none, not even internally. She only made noises when she felt like it, not to communicate needs or feelings (unless she was hurt maybe).

Her medical profile doesn't say autism. I suppose saying 'Mental Retardation' is the politically incorrect term to label her as, but that's what her mum says she is (not in a judgemental way).


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autisticelders
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22 Feb 2022, 6:27 pm

neurodivergent ( ND) does not mean autistic, it means neurological differences from typical or average neurology.

Not only autism is neurodivergent,
there are many other neurological presentations/conditions/syndromes/disorders/ types of neurologies besides typical or normal/average neurology. (NT)

But you knew that already, I am pretty sure this was a trick question. ;)


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Joe90
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22 Feb 2022, 6:58 pm

It's just that a lot of people on the spectrum refer neurotypicals to everyone not on the spectrum, and they seem to forget about people like the girl in my OP. Allistic is a better term to use for all non-autistic people but there's a lot of members here who haven't heard of that word before.

I think AS people seem to think using the term NT is simple, and it is, but when I use it I literally mean "all people without a neurodevelopmental disorder or disability". But then I get asked questions like "but what about people with just depression or anxiety? What about children traumatized from child abuse? What about homosexual people?" all these questions that I'm unable to answer. I don't know! They're in a different category. Neurotypical means no neurodevelopmental disabilities or long-term brain defects/diseases.
Neurotypical doesn't necessarily mean perfectly well-adjusted. It just means standard "typical" brain wiring, meaning no significant (social or intellectual) developmental delays in childhood, or a person with a once "typical" brain develops permanent abnormalities, like brain damage (in a car accident or something) or brain diseases like Alzheimer's.
Emotional disorders in an otherwise "normal" wired person are a different thing to neurodevelopmental disorders. Autism, downs syndrome, ADHD, fragile-X, etc, are all neuroatypical disorders/disabilities that can make affected people different from the norm and can make them face challenges. Even intellectual dysfunction can affect some social skills to some extent even if they're not autistic. For example a person with downs syndrome can be naive and too honest, and can sometimes misunderstand social cues.

I used to volunteer at a social group club thing for teenagers with neurodevelopmental disabilities and they weren't all just autistic. They all went to special schools and didn't have any neurotypical friends to hang out with. That's why their parents or carers signed them up to the group so that they can have a bit of a social life with like-minded people with social and intellectual challenges.


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autisticelders
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23 Feb 2022, 5:21 pm

I like this post, thanks for giving food for thought. It is good to be clear on what common terms mean.

One that bothers me a lot is the improper use of "co-morbid". Maybe we all could form a glossary of commonly used terms and their meanings somewhere on this board. A dedicated thread or something like that?


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Joe90
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25 Feb 2022, 3:48 am

autisticelders wrote:
I like this post, thanks for giving food for thought. It is good to be clear on what common terms mean.

One that bothers me a lot is the improper use of "co-morbid". Maybe we all could form a glossary of commonly used terms and their meanings somewhere on this board. A dedicated thread or something like that?


We could do. I think I've explained the neurotypical term quite well in my post. I should have posted it in a more active subforum really.


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26 Feb 2022, 9:05 pm

Of course she is much further from NT than we are. Surely there are many who have a neurologic disability who would not be NT. The idea of ND is that we often have strengths that somewhat make up for the deficits. I have wondered what percent of the population would be NT. I found some data that about 14% of kids have some kind of educational disability The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act: A Comparison of State Eligibility Criteria. 20% of adults experience mental illness each year (CDC/NAMI). However, lets assume there is considerable overlap between these two group, 4% of the population. So if I'm not missing any large group of middle age adults, about 70% would be NT.


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16 Mar 2022, 1:11 pm

I don't think I've ever heard anyone here claim that anyone who isn't autistic is neurotypical, except for people like OP accusing others of thinking that.



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16 Mar 2022, 1:27 pm

Isn't allistic the opposite of autistic?
NT is only the opposite of ND.


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16 Mar 2022, 6:53 pm

funeralxempire wrote:
Isn't allistic the opposite of autistic?
NT is only the opposite of ND.


Exactly.



Joe90
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17 Mar 2022, 7:00 am

Ettina wrote:
I don't think I've ever heard anyone here claim that anyone who isn't autistic is neurotypical, except for people like OP accusing others of thinking that.


I'm not "accusing" anyone of anything, I've seen it here for myself. I'd post some threads for proof but due to WP's crappy search feature I can't find any right now.


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Joe90
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17 Mar 2022, 7:03 am

Ettina wrote:
funeralxempire wrote:
Isn't allistic the opposite of autistic?
NT is only the opposite of ND.


Exactly.


I use "allistic" to call everyone not on the autism spectrum.

I use "neurotypical" to call people like...well what I explained in my long post in this thread.


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