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Some thoughts/HCs about neurodivergence in Chiss culture, keeping in mind that TZahn, like most popular SF/F writers, probably isnât thinking explicitly about disability, neurodivergence or mental health:
We only see one subsection of Chiss society, the military, but it appears that Chiss society values conformity, stoicism, reputation, and loyalty to Family and society over the needs of the individual.
People who deviate significantly from the norm are treated with suspicion until they prove themselves to be useful. (Which is all too familiar.)
The Chiss also value strength, and the appearance of strength. To convey personal âweaknessâ is to be vulnerable to the enemies of oneâs Family, or the enemies of the Chiss. Arâalani thinks about how Khreshâs âoutburstâ would be used against him by Tanikâs Family.
This pressure to appear stoic and strong would be more intense for higher-ranking people of more important Families, but since anyone can potentially join a Great or Ruling Family, this value is probably instilled in most kids from an early age.
There also seems to be a tendency to look the other way when someone else is in distress. Thrawnâs sister DISAPPEARS and Thrawnâs parents simply pretend that nothing happened. Something similar happens with the emotional distress the Navigators experience.
The Navigators we see in Chaos Rising are traumatized, and most people who work with them just donât care. They have to keep doing their job and have no one to help them with the nightmares, the pressures of being a child bearing all that responsibility.
I imagine that their approach to neurodivergence is the sameâthey Pretend They Do Not See It as long as someone is doing their job, and if the person is not professionally successful, theyâre probably relegated to the fringes of society.
The Chiss might have official concepts of things like autism, dyslexia, and ADHD, but I imagine the majority of Chiss have minimal awareness of them. Theyâre written off as eccentricity, moral failing, or weakness.
Thrawn is tolerated because heâs âusefulâ, but heâs also seen as frustrating and weird. This is of course an all too common experience for neurodivergent people seen as âhigh functioningâ in the real world, and itâs an obstacle for getting support and understanding.
I also think a lot about what words alien cultures would create to describe ND conditions. The word autism was formed from the Greek word for âselfâ because autism was thought to be âmorbid self-admiration, referring to withdrawal of the patient to his fantasiesâ.
Maybe the Cheunh word for autism would refer more to the personâs apparent unwillingness or inability to conform to societal standards. The Chiss might not even have separate words for autism and ADHD, as theyâd both be seen as inability to conform.
Iâm imagining that the Cheunh word for an ND person might be something like âoutsiderâ (sharing a common root with the Cheunh word for âalienâ, since neurodivergent people would likely be seen as ânot Chiss enoughâ 
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