What is the definition of ‘normal’?

3rd of March, 2021

The adjective definition of normal is ‘conforming to a standard; usual, typical or expected’.

“Normal”, what does normal mean exactly? Well, when you think of normal you probably think of the average girl, boy or plain object, something basic like that right? Think of it like this, ice cream has lots of flavours, ice cream is just the name of the food but there are many different flavours like chocolate, vanilla, strawberry etc. They are different flavours and have different tastes and things that make them different, but the flavours are still ice cream. Now think of humans, humans have many different personalities and things that make them different, but like what I said with the ice cream, we are all still human, Boy or girl, tall or short, skinny or plus size, nothing can change the fact that we are all human and no matter how many times we call ourselves ugly and fat and dumb nothing will change, everyone is beautiful in their own way and I feel that nobody should have to feel that they are not good enough or that they are not worthy or even that they are ugly. Not being as “pretty” as the models, you see on magazines is okay.

So what does normal mean for people with Autism?

Well, normal can mean many different things depending on the person, for example, child is crying or, throwing a tantrum in a sore, or maybe not. Sometimes crying, yelling and screaming is normal for that person, people with autism see things differently and become overwhelmed in situations that you would expect a “normal” child to handle, such as: reading, writing, speaking, walking/crawling, noise and crowds. That may seem weird or out of the ordinary to you, but to a kid with autism struggling with those things, It’s completely normal to them. A lot of kids with autism struggle to ‘fit in’ with their daily lives, they are expected to do things at a ‘normal kids level’ and some kids physically and emotionally can’t. In the end, autism or not, everyone is normal we’re just kids with different strengths and struggles.

-Antonya