Is 'NT' offensive? Is 'on the NT spectrum' an option?

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So why in the Aspie Quiz someone can be at the same time more ND and more NT than another person?

For example I scored 56/200 ND and 175/200 NT.

Someone else scored 36/200 ND and 163/200 NT.

This means that I'm not only more ND but also more NT than that person. So there is a NT spectrum.

The aspie quiz and other such tests are not meant to grade people according to severity, but just to indicate whether someone has autistic tendencies or not, and the tests are not proof either way.

Regardless of how imperfect these tests are, I still think that there is something which can be called a NT spectrum. For example a person who is not an Aspie, but is a NT sociopath, would be low on the NT spectrum.

We can imagine that such a person would have a low Aspie score, but also a low NT score.

Yes, I agree that there is a continuum from extreme NT to extreme autistic and inbetween. I just commented that the test might not be calibrated for severity. Consider that every one of us who has done these tests always feel that the questions often are impossible to answer correctly (until we just stop bothering and fill something in).

Some examples:
Has it been harder for you than for others to keep friends?
How should I know? I have never had friends, and I do not know if other people have friends, or have kept friends.

Have you experienced stronger than normal attachments to certain people?
What does this mean? Having crushes on girls is one thing, but is that the question?

Do you have an alternative view of what is attractive in the opposite sex?
What is the normal view? Is there even a normal view?

Have people you formed strong attachments to taken advantage of you?
If one has not been strongly attached, then how does one know?

Do you have an urge to learn the routines of people you know?
I do not know any people.

Do you prefer to only meet people you know, one-on-one, or in small, familiar groups?
?

Do you like to follow (walk behind) people you are attached to?
I am not attached to anyone, so I do not know if I do.

Are you more sexually attracted to strangers than to people you know well?
Everyone is a stranger.

Will you abandon your friends if your activities or ideals clash?
There are no friends to abandon.

Do you dislike it when people drop by to visit you uninvited?
That depends on who they are.

I'm convinced that NT and ND are both spectrums and even meet in the middle somewhere.

According to Dr.Attwood, some people even "lose" their (autism) diagnosis later in life by no longer meeting the criteria. Is this a change of brain due to neuroplasticity, or are they still autistic, but with finely-honed NT adaptation skills?

Then there are obviously NT people out there with numerous autistic traits, yet still below the diagnostic threshold.

I understand that there's still a line somewhere that divides people into allistic and autistic groups, but within those groups there seems to be a lot of variation.

Attwood describes Aspergers as around one hundred characteristic traits. All humans have at least 20-30 of them, but to be autistic you need to have at least 70-80 of these traits, and among them, most important, the four corner traits. You could say that all humans have all traits, it is just the level of each trait that is different, and it is necessary to reach a diagnostic level of the trait for it to be diagnosable.

They are probably still autistic, but have adapted enough to cope.

They are basically asking whether there has been some "significant other", who has been so essential in your life, that it would be hard for you to live without that person. But it is not about being dependent on that person.

In other words - someone you would miss if that person disappeared from your life.

As for crushes - yes, they are also asking about crushes. But only very strong ones.

Have you ever had very strong crushes. Or more - have you ever fallen in love?



There are no any "normal" views here, but there are "mainstream" views. Basically whatever is considered attractive by the majority of people in your culture = mainstream view. Of course this mainstream view can be different depending on culture. For example when it comes to physical attractiveness, beauty standards are evolving all the time:

http://dienekes.blogspot.com/2008/03/wh ... -more.html

Beauty preferences shaped by environments

BTW, my answer was that I often do have alternative views on what is attractive in the opposite sex.



In such case the answer is: "No, they have not taken advantage of me".



Hard to believe. Everyone has a family. Or had a family at some point.

Even if you don't know any people now, you did know some in the past.



So you do not meet any people, right? OK. Imagine this: I tell you that I found two groups of people who want to meet you. One group is large, 30 people and they are not registered on Wrong Planet. The other group is small, 4 people - including myself and three other Wrong Planet users. You can only meet one of these groups.

Which one do you prefer to meet?

Let's assume that you can't refuse to meet both. You must agree to meet one of them.



OK. In such case you should just leave this question blank. There is such an option.

Instead of answering "0", "1" or "2", just answer "?". I left one question blank too.



And do you get sexually attracted to some of them? Or are you 100% asexual?



Once again - use your imagination. Would you do this, if you had a friend?

Do you want to have friends ??? If you could get some, would you want?



Therefore answer "1" - the middle ground. Instead of answering "0" or "2".

"1" = "yes, sometimes". "2" = "yes, often". And "0" = "no, never". Right?



What are these four corner traits ???



It is possible that they either "moved upward" on the NT spectrum, or "lost" some of their ND traits. Either they acquired more of NT traits while keeping their ND traits, or they lost some of their ND traits. Or even both at once.

Imagine someone who scores 100/200 ND and 80/200 NT.

Later the same person scores 100/200 ND but 120/200 NT.

This person moved upward on the NT spectrum by 40 points, but did not lose their ND traits.

I guess that it is possible to "lose" autism also for example thanks to therapies such as CET:

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3773526/

I tend to do this from the severe pain and less severe bullying I've endured. It's just a way to group together a bunch of people I like, hate, dislike, all of that. Also, I get along very easily with someone with AS once I know they have AS, and I can often figure out if they have it or not before I know them because I've gotten to know the symptoms, while neurotypicals have an aversion to talking and like to communicate more with their eyes. Again, the previously stated sentence is a generalization, but that's the essence of the statement, we generalize what hurts us.

NT to me is just not autistic, it's not a term I use outside this site.

If there is an NT spectrum, what is on each end? On the Autism Spectrum, there is Autistic on one end and Neurotypical on the other. I see any kind of spectrum like this as radiating from a centre point, which is Neurotypicality. If you propose that there is a 'NT Spectrum', what is the opposite of NT?

Exactly.

The "autism spectrum" goes from the profoundly low functioning autistics, through various shades up to the high functioning autistics and aspies ("ASD type I needing the least support"- as the modern DSM calls them). After that you are in the 98 percent who are not autistic.

So those 98 who are not autistic? How would you put them on a "spectrum" of "neurotypicality".

If you made the spectrum "as opposed to autism" then all 98 percent would be in the same one category of being "not autistic enough be classed as autistic", and thus "not needing any support". So all NTs pretty much end up as being on the same one point of their "spectrum". So calling it a "spectrum" is pointless.

If someone is a very mild NT, they would sure have a lot of quirks and not follow the social norms and they would be pretty weird you might think they have a disorder themselves. Or they could be very close to having a disorder. Or they do have a disorder or have mental issues. That depends on how you define NT.

What about this "anti-aspie" Brazilian, could he count as the high end of the NT spectrum?:

viewtopic.php?f=3&t=338707&p=7496214#p7496214

He would count as the NT end of the autism spectrum.

The autism spectrum and the NT spectrum are one thing. It's just that we use autism to define the spectrum. If we use NT to define the spectrum, the he would be at the high end of the "NT spectrum". But we use autism to define it, and it's been this way for a long time, so we don't change the definition now. So he is at the NT end of the autism spectrum.

I see the spectrum as being like this, with level of traits (from none to significant) of the opposite extreme varying along the way...
In this case, I'm only considering autism as the qualifier for "neurodiverse".

NT [no ND] NT [mild ND] NT [sig. ND] ND [sig. NT] ND [mild NT] ND [no NT]
|-------------|----------------|---------------|---------------|---------------|

I'm just not sure what the "tipping point" is that crosses one over into AS territory vs. being an NT with heavy neurodiverse traits.