Ongoing thread, considering pinning it instead of the ABC news article about me (opinions on that welcome!)

ABOUT THE NEUROTYPICAL/ALLISTIC CONCEPT OF "NORMALITY"

(thread below.)

#ActuallyAutistic #DisabilityTheory

Autistics know that there is no such thing as "normality". Natural diversity exists in all areas. Frequency is not an indication of something being more "correct" than other things.

Neurotypicals think that frequency indicates that something is "correct" and "good," and call things that are frequent "normal".

Everyone has different facial expressions that mean different things, and when one understands someone's facial expressions, it is an indication that one knows them well.

Neurotypical people, however, think that every different person's facial expressions mean the same thing as all other people's facial expressions. If provided evidence disproving this, they will claim that the example is an "outlier" and "anomaly".

To neurotypical people, something being an "outlier" or "anomaly" means that it is, in their minds, less correct, and less "good". Neurotypicals interpret difference as something to be negated, not something entirely natural.

Well-meaning neurotypicals often push the idea that different people "aren't so different," and that "people are all the same deep down". This is not because they intend harm, but because to their way of thinking, people not being the same is genuinely a negative thing.

(Apologies for starting this thread phrased a bit like a rant, or a judgement. It is intended to genuinely facilitate more effective communication between different neurotypes, by providing an explanation of some of these differences.)

To neurotypical people, lying is often a good thing that enables social bonding!

Because the neurotypical understanding is that similarity is "good," and "right," pretending to have similar opinions and experiences to other people is a way to express their desire to be similar, and thus an indication of social goodwill.

(By the way, @SNeurotypicals, you might be interested in this thread!)