Neurotypical stands for neurologically typical (as in "normal").
According to dictionary.com: pertaining to autistic persons whose neurological development and function is within the normal range; also called neurologically typical
However, Wikipedia suggests it's also used to refer to "non-autistic" persons so those two definitions don't really match, unless you consider the autistic spectrum to be all-inclusive of everyone (and I'm unfamiliar with how the spectrum works, maybe it DOES include everyone).
It's redundancy. "ATM machine" parses to "automated teller machine machine" and "HIV virus" parses to "human immuno-deficiency virus virus". The example is all caps so I don't think there's anything extra with "PIN" v. "pin". Though there was an excellent opportunity for a trifecta of redundancy since many people say "PIN number" which, of course, parses out to "personal identification number number".
When describing autistic people, like me, it's often necessary to compare abilities and perceptions to those that are typical of the majority of the population, 'normal' people if you will.
'Normal', however, is also the antonym of 'weird', so saying "I'm not normal, I'm an Aspie", sounds a bit self-deprecating. Saying "I'm not neuro-typical, I'm an Aspie" is a lot less tendentious.
It can be thought of as a PC-ish way to describe non-autistic people :)
Are aspergers and autism on the same scale? I guess I associate autism more clearly with language acquisition and usage, and aspergers with social cues so I guess they *would* be very similar or on the same spectrum...
The more I learn about autism, the more I see peppered around that there are people who are really negative about it or think they are inferior or something. I honestly don't understand how anybody could possible come up with that conclusion and it makes me really sad. :(
I'm under the impression that Aspergers is also referred to as "high functioning autism," but I could be mistaken. I'm also under the impression that Asperger's is much more common among the geek population than the general population.
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According to dictionary.com:
pertaining to autistic persons whose neurological development and function is within the normal range; also called neurologically typical
However, Wikipedia suggests it's also used to refer to "non-autistic" persons so those two definitions don't really match, unless you consider the autistic spectrum to be all-inclusive of everyone (and I'm unfamiliar with how the spectrum works, maybe it DOES include everyone).
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'Normal', however, is also the antonym of 'weird', so saying "I'm not normal, I'm an Aspie", sounds a bit self-deprecating. Saying "I'm not neuro-typical, I'm an Aspie" is a lot less tendentious.
It can be thought of as a PC-ish way to describe non-autistic people :)
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The more I learn about autism, the more I see peppered around that there are people who are really negative about it or think they are inferior or something. I honestly don't understand how anybody could possible come up with that conclusion and it makes me really sad. :(
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