Neurotype = a certain way the brain works
Autism — Divergent Psychology
Neurotypes is a term used by neurodiversity scholars referring to classes of “differently wired brains” (e.g., autistic, dyslexic, etc).
Autistic phenomenology: past, present, and potential future
People who share neurotypes are called neurokin. Autistic author and advocate Yenn Purkis says of neurokin that connecting with them “is like coming home after being in another country for a long time. My neurokin speak my language.”
What We’re Reading: Finding Neurokin in Madeleine Ryan’s A Room Called Earth – The Cincinnati Review
…there is a wide range of neuro-cognitive variability or styles, hereafter referred to as neurotypes or neurodivergences. Each person’s neurotype is unique, analogous to the concept of fingerprints.
Towards system redesign: An exploratory analysis of neurodivergent traits in a childhood population referred for autism assessment
Such neurotypes include so-called Autism Spectrum Disorder (referred to here as simply autism), Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), Intellectual Disability (ID), and Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD) among others.
Towards system redesign: An exploratory analysis of neurodivergent traits in a childhood population referred for autism assessment
Finally, within the neurodiversity movement, there are still remnants of the pathology paradigm that I think need to be overcome. For instance, some neurodiversity proponents still see neurotypes as natural kinds with timeless biological essences. I hope we can overcome this kind of biological essentialism since it is theoretically untenable and in my view contributes to a lot of needlessly toxic discourse. Relatedly, we also need to have more of a widespread acknowledgement that neurotype is, to some extent, fluid, and that even neurotypicals become neurodivergent if they live long enough. Working towards a more fluid and inclusive understanding of neurological identification will, I hope, not just be more liberating for neurodivergent individuals, but also help establish how the neurodiversity paradigm will be better for everyone. After all, even neurotypicals cannot live up to the ideal of normalcy. They have closer proximity to the ideal, sure. But since nobody is wholly normal, adherence to the ideal is, I think, harmful in other ways even for those who are temporarily enabled by it.
The Neurodiversity Paradigm in Psychiatry: Robert Chapman, PhD
