We're all on the Spectrum

maybe

there is evidence that different political persuasion have differences in which part of the brain they use to make decisions.... People’s brain activity shows their political affiliation while buying food, study shows - University of Exeter News

I wonder if politicians are hyper NT? They all seem to like commitees and making up rules for others to follow and not understanding how "ordinary" people live.

On being very NT...

this quote via this NAS website...

[A parody of autism research from the satirical website of a fictional research centre:] 
"Neurotypical syndrome is a neurobiological disorder characterised by preoccupation with social concerns, delusions of superiority, and obsession with conformity."
– muskie, Institute for the Study of the Neurologically Typical (‘ISNT’, 1998-2002)

HEheheheh :-)

pietro_21 said:

Normal is not a spectrum.

I agree.

Neurotypicality is a state that is diagnosed through measured criteria (eg autism assessment) and can be plotted on a spectrum (the circular one) and the traits traced back to a development "fault" of the brain.

NT is basically those who don't have these developmental "failures".

They can have some of our traits but they do not come from the same causes. It is this that makes them believe they are also "on the spectrum", but it stems from their ignorance.

I read the sub question. Normal is not a spectrum. Autism is because the it is measured within the known parameters and sub conditions (correct me 5) identified by earlier research. These are different universes nt/nd so measurable only on the terms that exist within each. Otherwise it’s somewhat hypothetical, or you’re tranpling on sacred ground. I sometimes ask did a typical normal person ask this question, or is the person a disbeliever?

I wouldn't even know where to begin looking for such a piece of research, it would be good though.

As the initial post I made makes reference to there is overlap between people who are diagnosed to be in the autistic spectrum and the upper end of people who are neurotypical "controls" for this comparison who are in the upper end of the "neurotypical" spectrum.

These people may be undiagnosed autistic.  In a similar fashion that those people on the lower end of the autistic spectrum which overlaps the upper end of the neurotypical might be misdiagnosed.

However one needs to also consider that the assessment is subjective and is taken in several domains that are summed up in assessment (the parts of the autistic spectrum discussed) in that it is not he same as a blood test or similar.  

So to answer your question the people that you talk about probably "look" like they have traits which are sufficient for them to be autistic ... ... ... 

How they are?

It is impossible to know without finding out...

I could guess they are some of the most "successful" autists in respect of getting by in society therefore do not need a diagnosis.

Equally I could guess that they are getting a hold whole of grief from a neurotypical society and just don't realise why they are different.

What a great idea for a piece of research that might be, maybe it's already been done - perhaps you might find out for yourself...

I did TheCatWoman 

Why not try reading the body of the OP rather than just the title, it would save so much time and confusion?

I agree pietro, but this is what we're all told and I wondered what the extreme NT end of the spectrum looks like and how people who are at that end are?

Well all the language is so deficiency based, I thought it might be nice to not be so hard on ourselves when we think of our quirks.

Apart from sweeties almost universally being considered as being a pleasant treat to have...

"good enough for who and why does it matter?"

Maybe when one is able to put aside society, or even be able to have society put one aside and still be able to live (this mainly an economic thing if friendships and relationships don't matter to one)  However having basic human levels of respect and understanding for one from other people are critical to mental well being.  (Elon Musk please, please eat your own heart out, I mean it - literally...)

Why should we autistic people get on? (I completely agree not all the time of course...) because we are all on the autistic spectrum.  We are all definitively "other" to neurotypical society which steadfastly refuses to make efforts to understand and integrate with us on our terms rather than theirs.  We know what it is like to be autistic, ok to varying degrees and with our own different pattern of the spectrum.  We know how damn hard it can be and we owe it to one another and to future autistic people to because only together are we going to stand a cat in hell's chance of getting representation, recognition and a sniff at fairness in what is fundamentally a neurotypically biased society.

And also because evidence suggests that autistic people may have a significantly out of proportion role in invention and discoveries that feed neurotypical society - we should self-police the likes of some of the less salubrious autists and be more careful about what neurotypical society does with the progress that comes with those "special interests"... 

The "tests" identify a person as being in a separate spectrum to that which neurotypical people overall,

Within that spectrum there are 7 separate components arranged in a line like in the pictures in the web page you shared.

Or if someone wanted to they could be arranged like slices of a pie.

The point is how much of these varies with each of us and in autistic people these things are present more or less.  The overall total added up from the separate components makes one "autistic".

These values get "messy" somewhat.

Like interrupting people when they are speaking - this can be quickly "knocked out of someone" behaviourally so that they don't even speak...

Or say difficulty in tidying one's room - some people go the other way and obsess over it - perhaps because they got told off so much if they didn't...  and this simple thing is so damn hard that they aren't able to do anything else...

or not being on time...  doing nothing else all day because one knows that at 2 o'clock you have to...

Or stimming - hidden from other people but when in private, rocking and sucking the thumb like crazy...

or that all people are on a spectrum that includes autistic people?

Just to make it clear, is your title saying that all autistic people are on the autistic spectrum TheCatWoman ?

all people are not on the autistic spectrum I think is what Bananatropics26 might be saying here TheCatWoman .  Same point I was making in my post referencing Prof Baron-Cohen et al's work

That is probably the most offensive thing you can say to someone with a formal diagnosis. We’re not all on the spectrum. Most ‘normal’ people are not on the spectrum. 

I see the opposite end of the spectrum NT being someone who is very loud and expects everyone to do what they enjoy doing. Probably also they travel a lot and do lots of things on the spur of the moment with no planning needed.

I wouldn't say that pietro, I might get accused of racism, lol