Neurotypical Disorder

Diagnostic Criteria for Neurotypical Disorder

A. Persistent dependence on social communication and social interaction across multiple contexts, as manifested by the following, currently or by history (examples are illustrative, not exhaustive):

1. Heavy reliance on nonverbal communicative behaviors in social interaction, ranging, for example, from automatically fixating on another's eyes; to use of facial expressions, body language, and gestures in place of words or phrases.

2. Dependence on developing and maintaining relationships, ranging, for example, from altering behavior according to various social situations; to absence of interest in solitary activities.

3. Visible distress when social-emotional reciprocity, ranging, for example, from social approach and normal back-and-forth conversation; to sharing of interests, emotions, or affect, is not given.

B. Mindless, routine patterns of behavior, interests, or activities, as manifested by at least two of the following, currently or by history (examples are illustrative, not exhaustive):

1. Specified or vague motor movements, use of objects, or speech (e.g., linguistic gestures, pretending a block is a car or a stick is a gun, metaphoric phrases, expectation that others will understand the meaning).

2. Lack of awareness of differences, mindless adherence to routines, or ritualized patterns of verbal or nonverbal behavior (e.g., obliviousness to small changes, scripted greeting rituals, taking the same route when going somewhere else).

3. Shallow, unfocused interests (e.g., little attachment to or preoccupation with unusual objects, lack of in-depth knowledge into recent interests).

4. Hyper- or hyporeactivity to sensory input or lack of interest in sensory aspects of the environment (e.g., adverse response to pain/temperature, apparent indifference to specific sounds or textures, little smelling or touching objects, no interest toward lights or movement).

C. Symptoms must be present in the early developmental period (but may not be fully apparent until social situations allow full manifestation, or may be masked in non-social situations).

D. Symptoms cause significant impairment in logical reasoning, interactions with inanimate objects, and other non-social areas of functioning.

E. These disturbances are not better explained by stalking behaviors. Stalking behaviors and neurotypical disorder frequently co-occur; to make comorbid diagnosis of neurotypical disorder and stalking behaviors, normal social behavior should be at expected developmental level.

Early Development:

Though diagnosis is usually not possible so early, research suggests that an early marker of neurotypical disorder may be strange and repetitive babbling during infanthood. This usually transitions into words and complete sentences during the child's second year.

Children with neurotypical disorder often gravitate toward other children with a similar condition. Groups of children with neurotypical disorder will often mimic characters or event they have seen in entertainment, such as acting like superheroes or behaving as if they are in space. Some will attempt to convince adults that they are animals, such as dogs or dinosaurs.

Many children with neurotypical disorder will specifically exclude children from play who are not suitably similar to them, sometimes to the point of bullying. A child may have no explanation for this behavior, other than “he's weird” or “she's gross.”

In the absence of a suitable companion, many children with neurotypical disorder will create a friend out of thin air. They will play with this “friend” as though he or she were there, and often introduce the “friend” to parents. Most will grow out of this behavior by adolescent years.

Adulthood:

Adults with neurotypical disorder are often more willing to engage in non-social activities, as required. They are still highly dependent on social interactions. Most show a preference to spending free time in public with friends, instead of, for example, staying home with a jigsaw puzzle.

An adult with neurotypical disorder will often take intense interest in the private lives of celebrities. Many, especially males, will exhibit screaming and yelling behaviors while observing sporting events. Much importance appears to be placed on the outcome of such events, though they appear to have little impact on the individuals' lives.

Many adults with neurotypical disorder seem to be more accepting than children of non-neurotypical individuals. Most, however, will still consider behaviors that they do not understand to be wrong, and will usually attempt to correct them.

Causes:

The primary factor in the development of neurotypical disorder appears to be genetic, though it may be possible that this works in conjunction with environmental triggers or the lack thereof.

Treatments:

Neurotypical disorder appears to be a lifelong condition, though some individuals appear to grow out of it, often by acquiring a different diagnosis. This is not common.

There is no known cure for neurotypical disorder. No medications have shown conclusive results. Research suggests that being in a group composed mainly of people without neurotypical disorder can relieve some symptoms.

Some adults attempt to self-medicate using alcohol, cannabis, or other substances. This is not recommended, as many can have sometimes unpredictable side effects, or even exaggerate symptoms.

Prevalence:

Current estimates place the prevalence of neurotypical disorder at 67 in 68. This has declined from 87 in 88 in the year 2008. Scientists are currently attempting to discover the cause of the decline in rates.