Friday, April 10, 2009  Who is neurotypical? (by Suzie)        
   After a recent and heated discussion on this blog, I sought
more information on the term “neurotypical,” which began in the
autism community for people perceived “as normal in their
ability to process linguistic information and social cues.”    
      In the previous discussion, some readers seemed to be
using NT for anyone who hasn't been diagnosed with a mental
disorder or illness. A couple of comments on this thread at
Wrong Planet do the same.               When many people hear
“mental illness,” they think of a debilitating disorder that
lasts a long time, as opposed to being “physically ill,” which
might last only a few hours. But certain mental illnesses can
come and go and come again, or go away forever.           When I
was an undergraduate 30 years ago, I had agoraphobia. It got so
bad that I felt sick stepping outside my apartment. My thinking
was different from when I did public speaking in high school,
and it is different now. 