What is YOUR definition of neurotypical?

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Is it...

1) People who hate AS?
2) People who hate Aspies?
3) People who identify as normal, whatever the hell that means?
4) People who identify as non-autistic?
5) People diagnosed as non-autistic, by a person who thinks in black and white?

...anything else?

I usually just think of Neurotypicals as people who haven't been diagnosed with Autism or any disorders (ie. ADHD, OCD).

Basically, someone who does not exhibit signs of, and is not diagnosed with, some sort of developmental neurological disorder. Perhaps, this could be extended to ANY neurological disorder.

Neurotypical = a person with no brain conditions that cause them to learn skills slower or differently, the skills people take for granted like certain social or intellectual skills, or emotional stability.

If a person's behaviour is affected by environment (like bad upbringing) or certain habits (like drugs or alcoholism) or big unfortunate changes (like divorce or death of a loved one), they are still a neurotypical. If a person's behaviour changes due to a brain injury like from a car crash, or a brain disease like Dementia, they are no longer neurotypical.

I don't think of people in those terms. I've always been in schools for those with autism, which is kind of like being in a club. I don't think most clubs have some special name for anyone who's not in the club. It's just them by name and then everyone else. I never even heard the term neurotypical until I started browsing autism forums.

Last edited by EzraS on 08 Feb 2017, 12:17 pm, edited 1 time in total.

All of the above in various ways with a big dose of this:

People who don't have any mental problems or any personality disorders or neurological disorders or mental illnesses. Perhaps also people who don't have any learning disabilities.

So someone with PTSD would be an NT then even though they might also have a hard time functioning and ,might also deal with the same issues ASD people deal with. Their issues are either caused by their upbringing or something they experienced in their life like domestic abuse or being raped or an accident or a disaster or being in the war, etc.

That also makes me wonder about other kids too who have problems because it was caused by their environment like being sick a lot as a baby so it affected their brain development and now they need special ed and they also have special needs as a result. And what about kids who were neglected so now they have RAD or are a feral child because they were kept locked away in a cupboard or something and had no human contact and abuse can change the wiring of the kid's brain and give them a permanent disability in their brain because of their upbringing.

I use not or non-autistic. I guess someone not having any neurodevelopmental disorders seems okay too. I tried to keep it simple to myself, though I am prone to analyzing.

To me, neurotypical means that the neurons in the brain are functioning normally, like they typically should.

I don't know the answer to that. Perhaps it might be the severity of how it affected a person's behaviour.
But what I do know is when I volunteered at this club for teenagers with disabilities, they didn't all have autism, but they were all non-NTs. Most went to a special school.

Perhaps it's not black and white? Just something to think about when you think of these cases.

Just to muddy the waters - People with schizophrenia are neurodivergent but what happens if they develop it later in life , were they always neurodivergent or were they NT until they develop it

^ ^ ^

I'm not sure if a person's brain is already wired to be a Schitzephrenic later on in life without a person knowing until they develop it. But it probably works the same way as Dementia. I don't know, I'm no neurologist.

All five choices are stupidly nonsensical.

NT means not diagnosed as autistic by a mental health worker, or not diagnosable as autistic.

Black and white thinking has nothing to do with it.

Whether you hate autistics or not, or love autistics or not, or live in culture that never heard of autistics or not, obviously has nothing to do with it.

Autistics can hate other autistics, and can also hate themselves.

I try keeping things simple for myself.
Normal people: those who have fun in parties, have lots of friends, seems to not think deeply about anything at all.
Screwed people: those who I can relate with, and my friends mostly fit in this cathegory. I'm included here too.