People using "nt" does my head in

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[quote="benjimanbreeg"][quote="KateShroud"][quote="benjimanbreeg"]but why call them anything? Just say this guy or girl. We have a disorder, they don't[/quote]
I fail to see what's so upsetting about this one label, as long as it isn't twisted into an insult. It is a term with a real definition, so it is a logical way to categorize in a world where differences abound. We have a disorder only according to accepted standards, but that doesn't mean we have a disability. It was an NT who labeled us as having Aspergers' syndrome in the first place. What works for you in life might not work so well for me; that's why human beings are so different from one another. In this world, we have aspies, auties, NT's, women, men, Americans, blacks, whites, nerds, socialites, and people who speak many languages and have different accents. And you know what? I'm fine with being different myself, because without all the diversity, this world would be soooooo BORING.[/quote]

hey thats fine, yeah everyone is different. I just don't see the point of using nt. I have heard loads of people talking about them like they're the enemy though.[/quote]
I've seen this too, but this is not how the term was intended to be used. If we get too PC and remove all the labels though, we lump everyone into one great big category (humans) and fail to see the differences. This would get too confusing if taken to the extreme. What if we couldn't use words that defined gender (male female, women men), and we were only permitted to say person or people? That'd get confusing. Don't go in there, that's the people's bathroom. Go in that other bathroom for those other people. Generalization, in general, is confusing.

But we can just use people's names, still dosen't stop everyone being different. Of course there has to be certain labels, just not for people who have nothing wrong with them.

[quote="benjimanbreeg"]But we can just use people's names, still dosen't stop everyone being different. Of course there has to be certain labels, just not for people who have nothing wrong with them.[/quote]
Everyone has something wrong somewhere, but AS is not something wrong with us. It's a trait we have, like eye or hair color. Some have curly hair, and others have straight. Some have AS, other's are NT. Some of us are helpful around other people, while others work by themselves most of the time. As groups, both are just as capable of contributing to society. It's only a classification. Nothing more. And I say again that there's nothing wrong with you. Don't be down on yourself if you can't be "normal". It's a gift.

I think if you decide to get rid of the NT label, you should take an equal approach, and say,

1) There are no NTs, there are just People.
2) There are no Aspies, there are just People.
3) There are no Autistic people, there are just people.

Otherwise it is unfair. If we get a name to describe us, why cant they also have a name to describe them?

You may think that we have the disorder etc etc, but to be honest, when I look at the aspies at the group I attend, I see People.

People are people.

I use the term NT because it is simple to use. I do not see it as offensive. Yes, a lot of us on this site do use it in a way that may be deemed offensive, however that is because many of us have suffered due to the things that NT's see as normal. It is not negative, and i prefer it to useing the word 'normal' because that makes me sound 'abnormal.'

_________________
I have HFA, ADHD, OCD & Tourette syndrome. I love animals, especially my bunnies and hamster. I skate in a roller derby team (but I'll try not to bite )

I don't much care for the term, and not especially because it is a term so much as the connotations I associate with it. I have a life to live, and the great majority of the people who I speak to on a day-to-day basis are supposed "neurotypicals". Anyone who tars all people without AS with the same (derogatory) brush is insulting my choice of company.

May I recommend a website with diagnostic criteria for NT's?

http://isnt.autistics.org/dsn-psy.html

Don't know if this is an oldie or not....

If this is the one I think I've seen, I first saw it many years ago. I think it was the first time I became familiar with the term "neurotypical". I saw it as a sort of lame joke at the time and left it at that, but it seems to have stuck.

Oops...correction!

This is the address for the NT diagnosis:

http://isnt.autisitcs.org/dsn.html

The other address is criteria for psychiatrists. That could be a whole other discussion.

Sorry.

[quote="2ukenkerl"][quote="KateShroud"][quote="benjimanbreeg"]but why call them anything? Just say this guy or girl. We have a disorder, they don't[/quote]
I fail to see what's so upsetting about this one label, as long as it isn't twisted into an insult. It is a term with a real definition, so it is a logical way to categorize in a world where differences abound. We have a disorder only according to accepted standards, but that doesn't mean we have a disability. It was an NT who labeled us as having Aspergers' syndrome in the first place. What works for you in life might not work so well for me; that's why human beings are so different from one another. In this world, we have aspies, auties, NT's, women, men, Americans, blacks, whites, nerds, socialites, and people who speak many languages and have different accents. And you know what? I'm fine with being different myself, because without all the diversity, this world would be soooooo BORING.[/quote]

Do you realize what you just did? You say not to use a possible derogatory term for them, and THEN use their derogatory term for us![/quote]
I have not contradicted myself here. I used the neurotypical labels for us and ours for them just to make a point. Sure we're all human, and that's nice. None of us here are gorillas, and it's good that we've established that as fact. But language is part of being human, and we label people and things in every language. Not every label need be an insult. It's just how we organize things in our minds to eliminate chaos and confusion. It keeps things simple. I don't have many friends, but they have different religious and political beliefs and come from different places and backgrounds. I learn more that way, and it sure is more interesting than sticking every human in a box, so to speak. Oh, by the way the only other aspie I've really ever met is my brother. I was raised by NT's, and I'm marrying an NT. He calls himself an NT. Do you think he's insulting himself? No. I have nothing against any group of people I listed abuv. I'm against stupid people and jerks. That is all. I'm not against you, or NT's, or anyone else.