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Neurotypical is a term coined by Judy Singer and later used by some autistic spectrum individuals and those who study them, which refers to people whose neurological development and state conforms to what most people would perceive as normal. The use of the word typical in place of normal hints at an underlying problem faced by neurology: does common (or most common) define normal, apart from a statistical normal distribution?
The term is used with varying degrees of seriousness. This ranges from a straightforward factual way to refer to non-autistic spectrum people to a more playfully tongue-in-cheek use in contexts which often strongly imply that the "merely typical" are to be pitied for wasting so much of their brain capacity keeping track of uninteresting and irrelevant information such as the thoughts and feelings of other people. Some might see this term as the early stages of a new branch of identity politics.
Neurotypical is frequently abbreviated NT.
Neurotypicality as a disease
As a parody in response to the commonly held belief that autism is a disease to be treated and cured, an attitude many autistic people consider to be bigotry, many autistic people speak about neurotypicality as if it were a disease. In this context, neurotypicals are described as having symptoms such as a persistent need to form irrational and destructive group hierarchies, an inability to accept solitary activities, persistent lying, an inability to use technology and understand computer logic, and a belief that their neurological structure is the correct one. For example, the Institute for the Study of the Neurologically Typical (http://isnt.autistics.org/) (ISNT for short) is a parody website of a fake institute devoted to finding a cure for neurotypicality. This website contains papers about NT social skills, NT theory of mind, and DSN descriptions of neurotypical disorder.
Most autistic people who speak of neurotypicals in this way do not seriously see neurotypicality as a disease. They simply do this to vent frustration with the belief that autism is a disorder and to be given a comic relief to what they consider an ugly situation while at the same time making a statement about how autism is perceived. Some neurotypicals (including some NT parents of autistic children) agree with autistics who say autism is not a disorder and support parodies like ISNT.
Some people have found ISNT offensive. One guestbook signer writes "This site is offensive to normals." Most autistic people do agree that some autistic people take NT bashing too far, however most such autistics don't think ISNT crosses the line.
Broadness of the term
Although there are people (such as those who are dyslexic or ADHD) who are not necessarily in the autistic spectrum, but also not technically "neurologically typical", the term is often used by autistic people to include anyone who is not on the autistic spectrum.
See also
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