Why Do NTs Post here?

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Some are wanting to understand us while others are simply Sh!! Stirrers.

Because guys like me are strange?

NT's need to stay off here unless they are trying to be understanding. Autistic people need a safe place to vent and process their emotions.

Honestly I think NTs here just grant us more margin for learning human nature in general. The site's for everyone.

Yeah but don't act like a douchebag on here and chastise the ASD person. Don't you guys have better things to do than go to predominantly autistic forum?

I've been attacked by other Aspies here, so I am not going to say it's only NTs who don't empathise with my anxieties (well, NTs do empathise with my anxieties too).

Sometimes I go on social anxiety forums instead of autism forums because sometimes Aspies here make me feel more self-conscious than I was before I posted about my social anxiety-related problem.

Honestly, I've seen very, very few NTs here who are **** Stirrers.

In general, I think I've seen 4 reasons that NTs post here:
1) Because they want to learn about ASD.
2) Because they know someone who has ASD and are wanting to know how to interact with that person.
3) Because they wonder whether they might have ASD.
4) Because, although they know they don't have ASD, there are some aspects of themselves that they feel they relate better to people with ASD than other NTs. Maybe they're of the Broad Autism Phenotype (BAP)?

NTs who visit this site nearly always seem to me to be very respectful. And as long as they treat everyone with respect, I have no objection to NTs being on this forum.

And, frankly, the same goes for everyone who posts here - we all need to treat each other with respect, regardless of our neurology.

I think the us vs them attitude (ASD vs NT) I see here is more unhelpful than beneficial. Whatever our brain structure, we each have more in common with each other than we have distinct from one another. Also let's not forget there are many, many forms of disability both mental and physical, and some issues NTs with non-autistic disabilities have, are similar to the issues we have, such as marginalization.

I see it differently but that's ok.

Why not read a book if you want to understand ASD people?

If you want to understand alcoholics, do you go to AA meetings? Hate to think you would. ASDs need a place where you aren't lurking and waiting to jump with some smartazz comment. You guys have AS Partners for your private issues.

I second this. I think everyone should be welcome so we can drop each other hints about how to get along better.

Better yet, say it straight out. As someone with ASD, I often miss it when people give me "hints" about what they expect, and that leads to frustration on both sides when I don't do what's expected of me.

Likewise, what's even more confusing is that NT's are often similarly fallible.

We need as much diversion as we can get on here to maintain everyone's patience.

Like any other member, NT members are expected to respect the ethos and purpose of Wrong Planet. Those that do that are welcome here. Those that don't tend to want to use the place to vent about their problems, wanting AS help to solve them (WP is primarily a support forum for neurodiverse people) or to belittle AS people, which often takes the form of condescension, which is not consistent with the ethos of Wrong Planet.

Some seem to stretch the correct assumption that they have a right to join to mean they can post demeaning comments about AS people without infringing the rules. "My husband is a pain in the neck, but then what else would he be, since he's on the spectrum, and you people owe it to me to help solve this problem" is offensive, but the people who post like that (and some NTs do) lack enough theory of mind perhaps to realise exactly why it is offensive and how offensive it is.

Some come with a lot to share and with a spirit of equality. Society of Autism is one such member, and her contributions added a lot of value to discussions - sensitive, informed, considered and respectful. NTs like her are welcome in spades as far as I am concerned.

I always thought her name was Sociology of Autism. (SocOfAut) And yes, she was/is an asset to the forums.

Because books usually only offer theory, not how to do things in actual situations. By following a forum it's also easier to understand that not all autistic people are the same and that there are big differences among our abilities and interests. Even if you read a book about autism written by an autistic person, it might not help you to understand the autistic person near you since it's two different people. In fact, the book might even do more harm. Getting different opinions from people in different situations is likely to be more helpfull.

Personally I don't care if the people posting here are NTs, autistic or something else as long as they follow the rules. Besides, autistic people can belittle other autistic people's problems as well, which I think is a bigger problem on this forum than NTs doing whatever they do. Even I might have accidentally written something that seems belitteling when I've tried to give advice.