Published on 12, July, 2020
It is of interest to muse on an exactly opposite world where 99% of the people are autistic.3 In such a society the very few non-autistic people would be highly unlikely to develop their full capability to understand other non-autistic minds because they would be interacting for the most part with autistic people. "
We identify with each other here because we can identify with the attributes, temperaments and thought of those in this ND online community. Our condition is of a over critical and reflective self which helps us to realise self awareness more easily. In recognising our behaviour and being able to empathise with others easily is because we are able to identify "self" in others. In seeing others share our same thought processes and beliefs/fears etc helps us to validate who we are...."normal" amongst our own tribe.
Human nature is fundamentally lazy in that it easier to form relationships and understanding with others more like ourselves....so for the NT individual to understand us requires effort and an ability to put oneself into another persons mind head which is inherently difficult if not impossible and we hit against the issue of other minds....they may not conceive of any merit in the bother.....Effort over Reward !!! why bother when there does not seem to be any tangible reward...?
Humans are tribal....we stick with those we identify with...as we identify with them..and so we fool ourselves into thinking that they identify with us and therefore...you would / could not threaten or hurt me as we have "so much in common".....I am part of your tribe, after all.
society surrounds itself and aspires to be whoever has decided is the new "norm" ...the expected societal construct....as a result every sheep out there strives to "fit" in...if you don't you face ostracization, trolling etc etc
It is a society still stifled by this idea of categorising people in a tribal way. Autism is a spectrum, the article just sites the NT and the ND and again reinforces this binary means of categorisation and reinforces, once more.....a tribal construct.
I am "me"......a multitude of things as a result of my experience, upbringing, environment and wiring....you are also "you"....empathy is also a construct of depth...there are degrees of empathy just as there are degrees of autism and NT behaviour.
Ellie x
Well said, Ellie.
Thank you