I realize I am waking up an old thread, but I've been mulling this over for the past few weeks. Rather than start a new thread, I did a search on the subject to see what had been written. That's when I came across this thread from 2007, which I was eager to read. But it doesn't seem to answer my question: What does NT mean?
I hope you don't mind a short story:
I don't have AS and don't suspect that I do. I have TS and OCD. Back in the day I was on the TS Usenet group and the MGH TS chat room. The terms "Normal" and "NT" were tossed around in both places. From what I could tell the term was taken to mean someone who did not meet the diagnostic criteria of anything out of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. By that definition, someone with TS was not considered NT. Likewise with OCD, BP, ADHD, or the acronym of your choice including AS.
When I joined Wrong Planet I was surprised to see how the term NT was being used. From what I could see I was considered neurologically typical here because I am not on the autism spectrum. I was surprised by this, so I did some reading to see if I was mis-reading how the term was being used here. Unfortunately I couldn't find anything that answered the question in any concrete way. I was interested to see that both definitions were posted on Wikipedia:
Quote:
Neurotypical (Neurologically Typical), someone whose brain development and activity are typical; formerly used as shorthand for anyone not on the autistic spectrum
To get a better understanding, I'm asking: When someone on Wrong Planet uses the term NT, what does it mean? Considering that I tic non-stop all day and occasionally have bouts of intrusive thoughts that would make even an R-rated horror film director wince, am I considered neurotypical? I am not asking this to be inflamatory or to put anyone on the spot. I'm trying to understand. Thanks.