Is there even such a thing as NT's anymore?

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Seriously, it feels like more & more people are being diagnosed with one or more disorders. Whether it's Asperger's, Bi-polar, ADD, dyslexia, or whatever, it seems like neurotypical (a.k.a. "normal") is no longer the norm.

Interesting, you may be right about that. Seems like 1 out of 3 people has a psychiatric "disorder" these days.

NT doesn't exist. It's just an illusion. I mean everyone has their own set of problems. That's why I prefer "people." That way we are using the whole catagory of everyone with all sorts of disabilities and conditions and ones without anything.

Fact: 1 in 4 Americans have some sort of mental illness.

My friend's teacher that said that in class, I wonder if she was referring to mental conditions too?

pretty much, thats why my mom won't listen to me complain about aspergers that much. She works in the mental health field and always says that everyone has something. When i bring up someone I know who doesn't have something, she always asks well do they drink alot? the answer to it is yes and then her response is well they're hiding they're condition. None of this changes the fact of how annoying aspergers can get sometimes, or whats even more annoying, the idea of how awesome the condition is in the right settings.....but is very hard to find with the world set up the way it is. It's almost like where some of my friends will be unhappy what ever they're handed, if i was given the right setting to use it in, i could be the happiest person on the planet. u know what im getting at

NT is more of a median.
The numerous diagnoses look like convenient ways of categorizing the broad variance that occurs within the species.

Here is what I heard. 40% of the population is NT. That means the majority is not NT. Of that 60% non NT group are people like us with autism that is around 1%. But the NT group is the largest group.

where did you hear that?

Well, you have to measure from somewhere.

Even if a third fit the pattern of common ground ape, they still are, with all of the behaviors.

One in seven winds up in a mental hospital, which is higher than the one in ten that goes to jail.

Depression is the leading cause of commitment, and theft jail time.

Counting drunks, druggies, the Neuro diverse are a very small minority.

If an alien said Neurotypical Human, I would take that as an insult, meaning dumb, dishonest, not to be trusted.

Hi Sinsboldly---I read that on a website dealing with autism. I will try to find the site again. I read that months ago and it really suprised me. The site said that 60% of people fall into things like ADD/ADHD, Bi-Polar, Schizophrenia, Autism, etc.

I have been looking for the website on the 40% NT statistic---and I can't find it. Perhaps someone else can find these statistics. I am thinking that it meant that if a person was considered depressed that that would eliminate them from the NT group---so that would be a fair amount there. And if someone finds statistics that contradicts what I read with a higher NT percentage, I would honestly find that more believable. Even though I read this on a credible site, I have always found it hard to believe.

Last edited by glider18 on 19 Oct 2009, 11:17 pm, edited 1 time in total.

Good thread indeed, this concept has come up more than once in my life, and the first time it was career altering. I was taking prerequisite courses to become a counselor, and the question rolled off my tongue “So is there such a thing as a fully functional family?” The reply was an abrupt one.“Absolutely not, if they appear 100% functional, there is a lot of things they are not telling you and have gotten really good at hiding them, furthermore, send them to me and in thirty minutes I will have half of them on the books for an appointment next week”. I will never forget that, it rocked my world to the point I was no longer interested in the ethics of so-called Professional Help.

Same thing with the “NT” title. I have regular meetings with a neurologist, not too long ago I had mentioned the term Neuro-Typical, "Stop Right There, What Is That". Well after regaining any type of composure, I thought I once might have had, I replied, “those without any mental disorders at all”. Same type of reply followed. “You give me one of these people who claim to be Neurologically Typical, and I will have them committed or on the books for a year”. At this point, I broke out laughing and he could not see why until I explained the previous paragraph, and his reply “Some people are rather passionate about Job Security”.

Hi DaWalker, maybe you can find the statistics on NTs in the population. I had read somewhere about 40% being NT. Sinsboldly would like to see that source---and I would too as I am wondering if I might have read it on a not so legitimate website. I have always thought the NT population should be higher than 40%, but from what you wrote, it sounds like it could be lower. I am confused now.

Thanks Sinsboldly---now I will be researching this forever .

No, seriously though---I am glad you questioned this because anytime I mention it, I begin wishing to know where I read it. From DaWalker's comments, it sounds like the NT percentage could be quite low.

I think this could be a very interesting finding---to show a chart of the percentages of our population. With the new numbers on autism, our percentage looks to be increasing rapidly.

And I think that is good. Hopefully we be accepted more if more and more of us are discovered. Then it become socially acceptable.

I always took "NT" to just mean non-autistic-spectrum people.

I don't know. I have been confused on this too. When I researched it, I understood it to mean that people with things like learning disabilities, depression, bi-polar, etc. would be in their own categories. I would love to see something spelled out on this. When I first thought about numbers on this, I too thought that there were two groups---we with autism, and those not with autism (NTs).

Last edited by glider18 on 19 Oct 2009, 11:44 pm, edited 1 time in total.