Neurotypical spectrum

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Not sure if this theory has been put forward earlier, but it has occurred to me that being neurotypical is more than simply "not neurodiverse". Personally I can identify 2 "levels".

Level 1 — Somebody is neither ND nor Level 2 NT.
Level 2 — Exhibits the following characteristics:
1.) Can't stand being alone. Must be with one's "posse" at all times.
2.) Requires constant reassurance from others of how those people feel toward them.
3.) When in others' company, needs to constantly interact with them. Can't, for example, sit in a friend's living room while both read and will find ways to get the other's attention if attention is not paid for any length of time.
4.) Sees interpersonal communication primarily as a way to express feelings rather than as a way to exchange information.

This brings to mind The Stranger by Camus. There is a scene in which the main character notices a man sleeping outdoors, and opines that "when that man is alone, he sleeps". BTW before putting that here, I Googled the topic and learned that the main character may well be based on an autistic acquaintance of the author.

My main point though is that not all NTs are Level 2 but we tend to experience the "NT world" in terms of such people. In particular, those who believe themselves ordained to make autistics miserable are Level 2. A Level 1 has no need of this i.e. they may not want to be your close friend but feel no need to torment you because you're different.

Unfortunately, Level 2s set the standards of behavior by which others are judged. Level 1s by how easily they can go along with the Level 2 agenda. Autistics are found guilty of not deserving a place in this world and sentenced to a life in the wilderness.

The good news is that not all NTs are Level 2. In fact, most probably aren't and can be gotten along with reasonably well, for example as co-workers or even romantic partners.

Level 2 NT's sound like the type of people I'd avoid.

I've seen some good videos on this idea, ranking NTs the way they rank us.

I'd have to think for a minute about where I saw the links and what they were.

Huh interesting analysis

Neuro-typicals are the ones who are going to social events hanging out with friends, finding love, getting married, having children etc

The thing is I am neuro-divergent and this is all the stuff I desire!

Maybe because I'm barely Autistic

Your Level 2 NT sounds much like people high in Extraversion, and maybe a little above average in Neuroticism.

I love this concept!

However the characteristics do sound more like that of an extravert rather than an average / typical NT.

I agree.
Especially since NTS are not immune from having psychiatric problems that can sometimes look similar like some autistic traits (1 adult for 4).

I'm also on the spectrum but I often feel such needs. I think the "level 2 NT" thing is just a caricature of how mainstream people look to somebody who feels more asocial and isn't very interested in feelings. NTs do these social things because they can. We don't do them so much because we can't, and some of us don't want to. In some cases we've just given up because it's never worked, and maybe in others there was never the desire in the first place. I don't think it's an unhealthy craving to feel a strong need to communicate feelings and to be part of a community. People are safer and more effective in groups.

TBH, these all sound like they're already diagnosable as some sort of personality disorder. Coincidentally, it's also part of why I try to avoid people when I can.

That's not unhealthy, but I don't think it healthy to be unable ever to enjoy a solitary activity, or tolerate people who are different. Level 1 NTs would satisfy most people's understanding of "normal", but Level 2 seem to end up in charge because constantly being "on" gives them the advantage in that regard.

There is no Neurotypical Spectrum. One either is or in not. Saying there is a neurotypical spetrum is like saying one can be "a little autistic". That's not true either.

One of the big mistakes they made with the DSM is calling it autistic spectrum disorder, despite it being one diagnosis that either you meet the criteria for or you don't. And if you don't, then you might just not have anything that they care to acknowledge, regardless of severity.

Compare that with schizophrenia spectrum disorder which includes, schizophrenia, schizophreniform disorder, schizoaffective disorder, delusional disorder amongst other psychotic disorders.The same goes for most of the other spectrum disorders where it's a spectrum because there isn't a clean point between having one disorder versus a different one.

To an extent, the same thing is going to apply to just not having anything particularly significant or diagnosable. It's just sort of the normal, people generally function OK without a lot of help, or if there is a mental health condition, it's something that can be treated and managed without changing who they are.

It's called autism "spectrum" disorder because it present so differently from one autistic to the next, NOT because there's no clean razor sharp point between NT and ASD. If you're in a room full of autistics, they are so different from each other. I was with a group recently and one of them needed constant supervision. He made no conversation, but he kept loudly blurting lines from movies (lots of echolalia). Another one was conversational and frequently talked about his special interest: making stuffed monster-like creatures. He had a rucksack full of them, and said he had "hundreds, maybe thousands" at home, and that "each one was unique." Two entirely different people, both with autism.

These sound like various degrees of extroversion and/or insecurity.

You're justifying what was a political move to try and appease activists. All of this could be said about schizophrenics, but they have a schizophrenia diagnosis that only applies to 5 types and a broader spectrum disorder that adds another 5 full diagnoses to schizophrenia to give you an actual spectrum both in terms of severity and in terms of how it looks and the required treatment.

If we're going to have an actual spectrum, it would be the previous autism types, probably excluding Rett Syndrome and including ADHD, SPCD and ScPD. That would be an actual, legitimate spectrum. Otherwise, they shouldn't have included spectrum as it's not a spectrum, it was a spectrum but they nixed all the diagnoses that made it so.

The same cannot be said about ASD where the only reason to refer to it as a spectrum is in a cynical effort to ignore the groups that were being left out. Somehow neither ScPD nor SPCD are on the spectrum, even though it's more or less impossible to tell the difference between ScPD without an extensive amount of records from early childhood and an austic person that's not actively stimming is more less identical to SPCD as well.

I kinda do see it as a spectrum, both ways. I'm multiply neurodivergent (autism, dyscalculia, possibly ADHD, multiple mental illnesses), but there are ways my brain might function more like a neurotypical in some areas. For instance, my brain seems to be able to read in such a way that I'm definitely not dyslexic. So in the area of reading, you could argue that my brain functions neurotypically.

haha, i'd class those (level2) as socio-paths, before i learned(from the internet) that was wrong

also there's a strong connection to the middle of (bellcurve) on iq (sorry),
the around middle average have a strong drive to conform and require (social-societal) conformation

anecdotal, you can have wise people on the lower levels, but hardly on the midrange
its hard work being midrange, always watching the p-s and q-s
that is why they resent you for not putting in the effort of keeping up the competition (i think)
or they can't stop lecturing you, the easy assumption, if you are not like them you must be dumb