What's so different!?

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Why to we refer to people without autism as an NT? why are they talked about like they are a different species? Ive read alot of rant post and they all seem to blame NT's and how "they" treat us differently i mean the only difference between us and them is that we have autism or some other minor disability (if you see it that way)

It's because some people have had bad experiences and are bitter about what they endured with others. They might have been bullied, ridculed, mocked, or not allowed to follow their dreams. "NT" is symbolic of every jerk who ever stood in their way.
Some people have to deal with non autistics every day and, perhaps, they find them confusing. Maybe the non autistics are vaguely hostile. It's frustration that gets expressed toward "the NTs" in those rant posts, since we often cannot talk about irl and just have to ignore stuff or smile, even.
People come onto web sites and try to get it out in the open, off their chests, and if no one knows who they are, they don't have to fear anything coming back to haunt them, unless they are being particularly threatening toward a specific target.

In a very real sense we are a different species, and BTW, Autism is not a 'minor' disability. The only people who say that are the newly diagnosed and those who still live at home with their parents. Once you've been out in the real world trying to survive, you learn real fast it ain't no 'minor' disability.

In any case, its been remarked on in thread after thread that ranting against NTs as if there were actually a specific group of people who perfectly define the average brain and that they are 'out there' somewhere intentionally persecuting anyone with Autism is stupid and counterproductive, yet some insist on continuing the practice.

The rest of us have taken to referring to folks without Autism as Non-Autistic, which is more accurate. And when you find yourself saying that Non-Autistic people are all mean to us, well, you realize pretty quickly how ridiculous that sounds. It can't possibly be true and we all know it.

There are neurotypical behaviors, there are no absolutely neurotypical people. Its an adjective, not a noun.

So the feeling of acceptance is only going to last while i live at home? Great

What Mouldy means is it can be perceived as a minor disability if you choose to see it that way. On the other hand, it can be the absolute worst thing in the world if you choose to perceive it as that. Something like 75% is perception, while 25% is reality. Truth is, we all have the right to find happiness.
Some people might consider themselves to be majorly disabled, while others will shrug it off as being something they can overcome. It all depends on who you are talking to and everybody's perceptions are just as valid to themselves as everyone else's, which is why you cannot convince someone who believes their disablity is a major hindrence is nbd. People are going to think what they want to think when they think it. So, who's to tell someone if they are major or minorly disabled, except themselves?

I don't really know the difference, either. If autistic people can grow up to be actors, farmers, musicians and technicians, I don't really know what the difference is.

What's this 'minor disability' you speak of?





Autistic traits provide a quantitative and qualitative advantage.

Autism... well i know there is different severitys of autism and i understand that the people with a very high level of it really do struggle and i can see why they would hate others for being able to fit in easier but im just wondering why NT's are blamed? Becuase they outcast us? Im pretty sure we are not special to them we are not on some target list for them to be mean to But the way people say it in their thread make it seem like other people have a personal vendetta against people with autism

Sadly, you'll see a lot of NT-bashing here.

As other people have said, Neurotypical people are not a homogenous group. It's just a blanket term for people who lack most autistic traits in any severity. When you've met one NT, you've met one NT

No. It is possible for people to keep the acceptance of their friends and families. If you get the right job, you will be accepted there and make a good living. If not you will search until you find a good fit, or give up. (My doctor says I am severely unemployable outside of a structured environment (I am retired military), but my boss and coworkers accept me.) I do experience a lack of acceptance outside of work. I don't have friends to socialize with after work or on the weekends. I try different things but never have been able to make friends.

An example of NT behavior I don't understand is when I went to a store to get parts for my bicycle. The cashier looked at me funny when I told her the toys i found are cool (spoke flashers, noise makers, cargo bags, and other accessories totaling over a hundred dollars). Since she looked at me weird, I explained that I liked the toys I found for my bike, and said they should be fun to play with. She looked at me like I was completely insane. At that point I was aggravated with her behavior and had finished paying. On my way to the door I said loudly to her "Fine. Look at me like I am crazy for buying things here. It does not bother me." I wont shop there again. I normally by my sporting things from a store farther away, where they don't mind that I am different.

I go to the same stores where I feel accepted, and avoid going back to those who try to make me feel bad because I am different. The waitresses at my regular restaurants know I am different. and that I am not insulting them on purpose when I say something wrong, They are actually happy to see me because I am a regular. The cashiers where I get gas and snacks know me and talk to me. They know they will not get an NT response from me, but they know I will be back in a couple of days to do business with them again. My gardener and maid service don't care about my personality either. Eventually I will find freinds who accept me without having to pay them.

Nice people are nice people.

Jerks are jerks.

This has nothing to do with AS/NT/any other type of neurological wiring.

Instead of a vast "us versus them" mentality, I try (this doesn't mean I always succeed) to take people as individuals. Gross generalizations lead to stereotyping. If we don't want to be stereotyped, then how is it productive to stereotype others?

I've been bullied by all kinds of people, and I've been friends with all kinds of people.

I don't think there is any such thing as a "typical" (fill in the blank here).

They also provide advantages, though.

Its only 'minor' BEFORE you've fully absorbed what PERVASIVE DEVELOPMENTAL DISORDER really means.

It means your brain is made askew from the norm from the moment you pop into this world - that you perceive everything around you differently than the majority do, and that shapes your personality and behavior from Day 1, making you different from everybody around you, in ways that those other people cannot and don't care to bother understanding. That's a bit more than a minor effect.

Who's to tell you? The bullies of the world will tell you as they beat you to the ground and stomp on your face for being different. Smile, while you're unemployed and homeless wandering the streets and muttering "My disability is only minor..."All that Pollyanna attitude will not protect you when the real world kicks you in the 'nads.


Of course if you've got somebody to support you and keep you in a cocoon all your life, then, yeah, you might consider it minor.

NTs will always succeed, meaning they will always find true love, have a marriage what will never end in divorce, have well-behaved kids, get a good job, have 1000 friends each, no bullying experiences whatsoever, will always pass their driving tests first time, will never have any car accidents, will never get ill, and be the most happiest people in the world from birth to the day they die.

^^
BS! All of that above is complete BS, but sometimes that's what I feel SOME posters of WP are trying to say in some of these threads. It is wrong. I know more about NTs than I do the autism spectrum (even though I've been diagnosed with Dyspraxia, AS, and high anxiety disorder). I grew up in a big family who are all NTs. I grew up at a school full of NTs. Everywhere I go there are mostly NTs. The world is a social place - how could I not know anything about NTs? I've always been the only Aspie I ever knew - I don't know any other Aspies, so I don't know any better than my Aspie traits, and I do know that all Aspies are different from eachother. I always thought I was the only person in the world with AS. Even the other kids at school with special needs - they had other NL disabilities, but none had AS, so they were the closest I could relate to.
It's like if somebody got brought up by wolves, and spent their entire life living with wolves, and has never met another person, so they adapt to the wolf world and be like wolves. Same with me. I've never met another Aspie before, and all my family are NTs, so I just have to be like them. Either that, or I'll suffer loneliness all my life. That's OK if you like that sort of thing. But I don't, so my other choice is to live like a NT. This is easier than you think, since every person is different, and the more you become older, the more you realise this. I've come across some really strange people in my life. I won't say about them, because I don't think they'll want their lives to be explained on the internet, but if I did explain them you will be surprised. And no drugs or alcohol were involved.

My mum has 3 siblings, and so does my dad, and all of my mum's siblings have divorced/split up from their partners, and 2 of my dad's siblings have divorced/split up from their partners. And not all the reasons were from cheating on eachother. The majority of the reasons were because they were getting fed up with eachother. (My parents have split up too, and neither of them have found anyone else, even though they want to). One of my mum's siblings had finished with her partner because she had got herself mixed up with a control-freak. It was the biggest mistake she had never made. And all of my aunts and uncles have had children, who are all NTs too, and they're not doing that brilliantly. One suffers from depression because he can't find a girlfriend. One has dropped out of college because he doesn't like the course and doesn't know what else to do. One is suffering from poor anger management because he feels all insecure because his parents have broke up, one has got bullied so bad in school that they had to take her out..... NT life isn't all that easy!

Miner disability: Neurological, psychological and physiological attributes that impair the efficient extraction of mineral resources

Let's try and tone down the rhetoric please. This isn't PPR and the post you are replying to was made 8 months ago.