“The Myth of Normal”: Unrealistic Neurotypical Standards
Some of the unwritten rules to living in a neurotypical world 🎶
📌 You need to focus, but don’t get so focused on something you then have trouble with transitions.
📌 Don’t be too disorganized, but also don’t be compulsively organized.
📌 Don’t be uncontrolled in your behaviors and actions but also don’t be too rigid and controlling.
📌 Be proficient across all subjects and tasks and to the same degree as everyone else your age. If you aren’t interested or strong in one area, you still need to learn it to proficiency.
📌 Be creative and inventive but also follow directions well.
📌 Don’t be too sensitive.
📌 You should have a lot of energy and and ideally be an athlete, but sit still at the right times for specific periods of time that may be really long.
📌 You need to have good communication skills but also don’t talk too much. Be quiet.
Almost no one can live up to these standards, even neurotypical adults! And that is OKAY. We all have our quirks, our preferences, our strengths and weaknesses, our sensitivities, etc. The journey toward inclusivity and understanding demands empathy, respect, and a dedication to reimagining societal norms to embrace and support human neurodiversity.
Aligning our behaviours and personalities with societal expectations comes at a cost, and it’s a big one. This is called “camouflaging” or “masking”, and it refers to masking your neurodivergent characteristics to fit in with others. Adapting to fit into a neurotypical world has significant mental health implications for autistic individuals in particular. A comprehensive study of 787 autistic adults found a strong link between camouflaging behaviors and increased anxiety and depression. The more individuals engaged in camouflaging, the more difficulties they faced with emotional regulation and perceived stress, which exacerbated symptoms of depression and anxiety. This effect was particularly pronounced in females. The findings indicate that the constant effort to conform to neurotypical expectations and the suppression of natural autistic behaviors in social contexts contribute to a cycle of stress and emotional difficulties, leading to higher rates of mental health issues among autistic people.
As our understanding of autism deepens, it becomes increasingly important to create environments where autistic individuals can flourish without the pressure to constantly camouflage and mask. This is also why neurodiversity affirming therapy is so important. Too often therapy for neurodivergent kids is geared towards making them more like their peers (stopping stimming, making eye contact, sitting still, stopping fidgeting, getting used to loud sounds, etc. ) The goal of neurodiversity affirming therapy is to understand how their brain works and provide the support and skills these kids need to feel calm, safe, and able to learn, communicate, and have their needs met.
Enter Minds in Bloom…….. join us on our mission.
References:
Hull, L., Petrides, K. V., & Mandy, W. (2020). The female autism phenotype and camouflaging: A narrative review. Review Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 7(4), 306–317.
