There’s vast online gatherings of enthused, sometimes fervent, even openly militant, self identified ‘Autistics’ who feel that Autism is a new ‘race’. Some refer to themselves as ‘X-men’ or ‘Indigos’ (Indigo Children), feel they are a new evolutionary step, even proclaim they’d prefer to have autistic children not not autistic children on the basis they feel their autistic children would be more highly ‘evolved’. By contrast these people may believe non-autistic people are ‘neurotypical’, even ‘mundanes’. So is this talk of a ‘master race’?
To put this in perspective, here’s some snapshots of human diversity as we presently know it. According to Wikipedia and other information sites:

* 95% of the human population scores between 70-130 on the IQ tests used to test those without significant learning differences. Superior intelligence (110-120) and Very Superior intelligence (above 128) are still within this 95% of the human population range, so relatively common!
* 65% of the general human population use visual thinking and visual learning as their primary systems and strategies (no wonder we have so many people who work in engineering and advertising).
* 36% of human beings may be considered talented and those considered gifted at around 17% of the general population.
* 7% of human beings are left handers and predominantly right brain thinkers… making them usually details oriented.
* 5% of people have the sensory crossovers of Synesthesia.
* 5% of children have Eidetic (Photographic) memory.
* Other forms of exceptional memory also occur across the human population.
* 1% of the general population are so Conscientious they fit OCPD, Obsessive Compulsive Personality Disorder (this goes up to 3-10% of psychiatric outpatients).

But if all that floats your boat here’s another few statistics about high achievers and exceptionality.

* 1% of human beings fit Narcissistic Personality Disorder (goes up to 2-16% in clinical settings) .
* 1% of human beings fit psychopathy with 17% of prison inmates also fitting psychopathy.

It may well be all about perspective… and keeping a sense of it.

Donna Williams, BA Hons, Dip Ed.
Author, artist, singer-songwriter, screenwriter.
Autism consultant and public speaker.

http://www.myspace.com/nobodynowherethefilm
http://www.donnawilliams.net
http://www.aspinauts.com