Meaning & use
neurotypical
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Meanings
adjectivenot comparable
Having a style of thinking, learning and behaving that is common in most people and not seen as autistic or otherwise neurodivergent.
Grammar: Can come before a noun or after be: a neurotypical child; she is neurotypical.
Patterns
- neurotypical person
- be neurotypical
The study compared autistic children with neurotypical children of the same age.
Many neurotypical people take social cues for granted.
He explained to his neurotypical coworkers how loud rooms affect him.
nouncountable
A person whose brain works in the way most people's do and who is not neurodivergent.
Grammar: Often plural: neurotypicals and autistic people.
Patterns
- a neurotypical
The club welcomes both neurotypicals and neurodivergent members.
As a neurotypical, she had never thought about how busy the office felt to others.
Word forms
| plural | neurotypicals |
|---|
Common combinations
- neurotypical children
- Neurotypical children in the sample reached the milestone earlier.
- neurotypical brain
- The scan compared an autistic brain with a neurotypical brain.
- neurotypical people
- Neurotypical people may not notice sensory overload.
- neurotypical behavior
- The test records what counts as neurotypical behavior.
- neurotypical and neurodivergent
- The school supports both neurotypical and neurodivergent students.
Synonyms and how they differ
- typical
- Typical is general and can describe anything average, whereas neurotypical specifically concerns how the brain processes and behaves.
- allistic
- Allistic means not autistic, which is narrower, while neurotypical excludes all neurodivergent conditions.
Opposites
Word family
- neurodivergent adjective
- having a brain that works differently from the typical pattern
- neurodiversity noun
- the natural range of differences in human brains
- neurotypicality noun
- the state of being neurotypical
- neuro adjective
- short form relating to the brain or nerves
Commonly confused: neurotypical or neurotic?
neurotypical vs neurotic
Neurotic means overly anxious; neurotypical means having a typical brain style and has nothing to do with anxiety.
Practice
Which word describes someone whose way of thinking is common among most people and who is not autistic or otherwise neurodivergent?
Choose one answer.
Neurotypical is the term for a brain style common in most people. Neurodivergent is the opposite, neurotic means anxious, and neurological means relating to the nervous system.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “neurotypical”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.