Defining Neurotypical Privilege
Why language and perspective are so important
“If the primary language of the society in which you were born is well-suited to the purpose of describing your sensory experiences, your needs, and your thought processes, you may have neurotypical privilege.” — Dr. Nick Walker
Picture this
Imagine you’re a passenger in a friend’s car. You aren’t feeling well: You have a fever and a headache. Your friend has the heat cranked up and the music on full blast. You might say “I’m not feeling well, could you please turn down the heat and the volume?”
Now imagine this same scenario, but the language you speak doesn’t have words for the concepts of “hot” or “loud”. You don’t know how to work the controls on your friend’s car and when you try to communicate with them, they’re not understanding what it is you want.
Have you ever had experiences that you didn’t quite understand, until one day someone described them so eloquently, putting words and names to something you have always wondered about and struggled with?
I certainly have, many times, and it is both validating and a relief to finally have words to express what are experiencing. A profound quote from Neurodiversity Studies: A New Critical Paradigm sums this up very well:
