Hmmm. I thought about this for a long time, because "human" vs "geek" bothered me on several levels, but it was hard to figure out why. I think it boils down to this: if I am "human" and others are not - that to me is a put-down. We are all human, it's a spectrum of experiences.
Neurotypical is medicalized, and it is sometimes used disparagingly by those who use it - but sometimes not. And it is the best term I have heard so far. An NT is wired in a "typical" way to pick up on the social cues more easily. Someone who is not NT can learn to do that - can even pass for NT in some company - but they're putting for an effort that an NT isn't, to work around the wiring in their brain.
I find the use of "human" vs "geek" makes me feel as if I'm being told we are essentially different species, and I don't think that's true. Neither do I like (which I've also heard) the use of "normal" since it implies that non-NT is "abnormal" or freakish, rather than just different. (I think perhaps it may be an NT/human (erk) thing to react this way, because it's based not just on the choice of how to use the word, but on the connotations from existing usage?)
I also have a problem with "geek" in this context because geek already has an existing set of meanings and connotations involving computers, technical stuff, gaming, focussed interests, etc. And I am a geek, IMO. But I'm also neurotypical. I am not a geek as you are choosing to use geek, but I am a geek as the word is used in society at large....
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Date: 2008-12-02 07:00 pm (UTC)Neurotypical is medicalized, and it is sometimes used disparagingly by those who use it - but sometimes not. And it is the best term I have heard so far. An NT is wired in a "typical" way to pick up on the social cues more easily. Someone who is not NT can learn to do that - can even pass for NT in some company - but they're putting for an effort that an NT isn't, to work around the wiring in their brain.
I find the use of "human" vs "geek" makes me feel as if I'm being told we are essentially different species, and I don't think that's true. Neither do I like (which I've also heard) the use of "normal" since it implies that non-NT is "abnormal" or freakish, rather than just different. (I think perhaps it may be an NT/human (erk) thing to react this way, because it's based not just on the choice of how to use the word, but on the connotations from existing usage?)
I also have a problem with "geek" in this context because geek already has an existing set of meanings and connotations involving computers, technical stuff, gaming, focussed interests, etc. And I am a geek, IMO. But I'm also neurotypical. I am not a geek as you are choosing to use geek, but I am a geek as the word is used in society at large....