Understanding Neurotypical Wiring

It took me 36 years and a lot of turmoil to come to the understanding that neurotypical people are intrinsically socially wired. I want to share this to hopefully save my fellow autistics some pain. The social domain is a neurotypical person’s entire world. For them, protecting group cohesion and their place in the hierarchy is an act of survival, not logic, and drives how they actively create, enforce, and navigate social status in everyday life.

For autistics, our wiring is entirely different. Protecting truth, fairness, efficiency, autonomy, among other things is our priority, even when it disrupts their invisible social structures.

Realizing this gave me a big filter I’ve never had access to before. With this knowledge in mind I can now determine which mainstream advice actually applies to my brain, feel less confused by social behaviors, and make much better, more intentional choices about how and when I choose to participate in interactions with people.