#neurotypes

The problem with having ADD (ADHD-I) and an atypical profile is that you mask your symptoms so well that even other people with ADHD start treating you like a neurotypical. This can create unbalanced relationships, where communication feels like a one-way street, and you often end up feeling overlooked or forgotten.

I'm tired of this rhetoric.

First of all, there is no such thing as "NT traits," because there is no criteria or guideline you have to meet to be neurotypical, other than not having a mental or neurological condition. Meanwhile, to be autistic, you have to meet a set of criteria that fits a much smaller population of people.

Even then, it would be offensive to overgeneralize the spectrum ("all autistic people lack empathy"), so why are we doing it to NTs? Because you're bitter by how some of them treated you? That doesn't seem like "justice sensitive" to me.

Rigid Thinking vs. "Justice Sensitivity"

I have already made a post (I believe) on how "justice sensitivity" is just cognitive rigidity. Here are some differences between the two:

Rigid thinking is an autistic thinking pattern and is a strong adherence to one's own moral principles (regardless of the actual moral value of these principles), without flexibility or adaptability to new information or perspectives. This rigidity is driven by a need for consistency. The need for sameness in autistic people means that these moral values are applied universally, regardless of context. For example, an autistic child has a rule at school where they need to raise their hand before asking a question. At home, they use the rule without regarding the different social context (school vs. home environment).

Justice sensitivity is rooted in a desire for fairness and equality. It involves empathy towards others, understanding different perspectives, and adapting one's viewpoint depending on the situation. Rigid thinking can contribute to a higher sense of justice, but they are fundamentally different concepts. Autism creates autistic people, not morally good people.

Different Types of Justice Sensitivity

Justice sensitivity: an individual's heightened perception and emotional response to perceived injustices or unfair treatment.

Observer justice sensitivity: an individual's heightened sensitivity to injustices that are perceived to occur to others.

Perpetrator justice sensitivity: an individual's recognition and emotional response when they themselves are a source of injustice to others.

...And more.

Two studies on justice sensitivity in ADHD found no or mixed results.

In the study, "Justice and rejection sensitivity in children and adolescents with ADHD symptoms," those with ADHD had remarkably low levels of perpetrator justice sensitivity, meaning that they did not realize when their actions had harmed others. They perceived themselves as less frequently causing injustice and reacted with diminished feelings of guilt in comparison to neurotypicals.

This means that no, neurodivergent people do not have more justice sensitivity than neurotypicals. In fact, neurotypicals have higher levels of some forms of justice sensitivity, and people with ADHD were less likely to feel guilt when they had wronged someone else.

Are Neurotypicals "Fake"?

You may have heard that humans are "social creatures." In prehistoric eras, instead of being solitary creatures, humans worked together to gather food, hunt, and take care of each other. This is what helped us evolve into the humans of today.

There is evidence that neurotypical social norms emerge from biological predispositions shaped by evolution. That means that neurotypical norms are not just arbitrary or socially constructed, but just as biological as autistic social patterns.

Theory of Mind: TOM facilitates prediction of behavior, deception, and cooperation, and is supported by specific neural circuits (medial prefrontal cortex, temporoparietal junction).

Reciprocity: Neurotypicals evolved with tendencies to engage in altruism and turn taking. Norms around fairness, turn taking, and obligation are universal regardless of cultural context. Oxytocin, serotonin, and dopaminergic systems mediate trust and prosocial behavior.

Social hierarchies: Primates, including humans, evolved with dominance behaviors. Status signaling and conformity are biologically reinforced behaviors, with origins in the amygdala and orbitofrontal cortex.

Language and communication: Spoken language and nonverbal cues, such as making eye contact, are processed through specialized neural pathways. Social norms like timing, tone, and mutual understanding arise from these pathways as well.

Attachment: Neurochemical systems (oxytocin, vasopressin) influence pair bonding, caregiving, and in-group loyalty.

Neurotypicals do not arbitrarily decide to create social norms, just to make it more difficult for autistic people. Neurotypical social norms are deeply ingrained in their evolution and biology, which is exactly why autism is a neurological disorder.

Critical Thinking

Critical thinking involves analysis (breaking down arguments or information into parts and identifying conclusions), evaluation (assessing credibility of sources), inference (drawing logical conclusions from data), explanation (clearly and logically justifying reasoning), and self regulation of biases.

There is no difference in the capacity for critical thinking among autistic vs. neurotypical people.

Differences in style, information processing, and biases are present, but these affect how critical thinking is utilized, not whether it is present. Autistic and neurotypical people differ in strategies and bias profiles, not in reasoning or the capacity for critical thinking. Neurotypical people do not "lack" critical thinking.

Blatant ableism against those with NPD

Neurotypicals are not "narcissists." Narcissist is a term for those with NPD. That's like saying a neurotypical is "autistic" because they have an interest in something, or a neurotypical is "antisocial" because they avoid other people.

Trait narcissism can exist in the general population, like how certain autistic traits can be present in those without autism. These traits include behaviors, thoughts, and beliefs such as arrogance, dominance, entitlement, insecurity, defensiveness, and withdrawal.

As we have seen with the biological aspects of neurotypical development, neurotypicals do not evolve or grow up with a predisposition to be arrogant, entitled, or insecure. Neurotypicals grow up with healthy attachments and prosocial behaviors that encourage empathy and discourage trait narcissism.