The term "neurodiversity", what does it mean to yo

Post Reply New Topic

In my experience those are strengths that HFA or AS people have, but once you get to mid- and low-functioning autists those areas are not strengths, they are usually on par with neurotypical individuals. However mid- and low-functioning autists have a great number of weaknesses as well. So to talk about autistic strengths really presents a skewed view of of entire autism spectrum, focusing on the people who are most similar to neurotypicals while ignoring those who are low-functioning.

Also, I don't think that a capacity for thinking outside the box describes people with autism at all.

I believe one could be "neurodiverse" even if one is not "autistic." Schizophrenia (in the absence of autism, of course) comes to mind.

HFA or AS people typically have multiple strengths that allow them to compensate their weaknesses.

Mid- and low-functioning Autists often have one or two highly specific savant skills. Their problem isn't the lack of strengths but rather the limited number of strengths and the very specific nature of their strengths (which tends to make them useless in most contexts).

I'm not convinced there are any mid- or low-functioning Autists without any remarkable strengths, except if their Autistic traits are not really Autism but symptoms of a real disorder (eg. Rett's). In fact, I'm pretty confident that the difference between a mid- or low-functioning Autism and a high-functioning Autism is often just the result of differences in life experience, environmental support, therapy, medication, etc. For many Autists, their strengths remain hidden for years until someone in their environment figures out how to unlock them by accident.



I'm not ignoring anyone. My statements are based on observations of those who are superior to neurotypicals, those who are equal to neurotypicals as well as those who are inferior to neurotypicals (with inferiority vs superiority defined in context of intelligence and capabilities and not intended as a value judgement).



While I have encountered some pretty close-minded and rigid Autistic individuals, I find "neurotypicals" typically far more close-minded and far more rigid in their thinking than most Autists I encounter.

Most "neurotypicals" rely heavily on emotional biases they develop through their childhood, which makes their worldview very narrow-minded. They tend to be extremely prejudiced against ideas that don't fit into their biased worldviews and often identify so strongly with their worldview that they can't even distinguish between the criticism of their beliefs and a personal value judgement. In my experience, openminded, rational "neurotypicals" are rare and few in between.

While some Autistic individuals develop similar emotional biases, many others do not. Some Autistic individuals even rely logic so strongly they are physically incapable of bias. That makes such individuals far more open-minded and far less rigid than the vast majority of "neurotypicals". Think of a real life version of Star Trek's Mr Spock.



... or Dyslexia, ADHD, BPD, etc.

Autism is far from the only "condition" that comes with both strengths and weaknesses.

We'll have to agree to disagree then. I have not encountered any academic literature or experienced in my personal interactions much evidence that suggests that people with autism will always have at least one savant skill.

And while I agree that thinking logically has its benefits, thinking emotionally does as well. Having "biases" (or, the ability to quickly diagnose a situation with incomplete information) is quite useful. I think of emotions and logic as two separate skills, and the ability to use them in tandem is a skill as well.

Autistic people don't have savant skills per se.

However, the weaknesses and strengths of Autistic people tend to be correlated. Often, an extreme strength is the flip-side of an extreme weakness.



Here also, weakness and strength are correlated. Bias/prejudice/faith can be a strength or a weakness, depending on the context.



True. However, in my experience "third culture kids" are among the very few who possess the gift of using emotion and logic in tandem in a highly efficient way. In my experience, the vast majority of people with strong logic skills are socially inept and the vast majority of people with strong social skills are lacking when it comes to logic.