I think that most gifted people are NT.
Misdiagnosed, maybe, but generally NT as long as they are socialized with an appropriate peer group.
That's my completely unsupported opinion.
This has been our experience. Dd's preschool and first school were terrible fits for her and she had all kinds of symptoms that made it look like there might be some other issues at play. She had significant social issues, selective mutism, sensory problems, she was extremely sensitive to change, sleep issues, etc. I used to sob to DH from time to time that I was so jealous of parents of NT kids who could just send their kids to school knowing they'd (by and large) enjoy the day, have friends, learn something. We finally found a school where dd fits and now I have one of those kids. All those issues have gone, she loves it, is learning, has great friends. I realise I say that as if it's a simple option, but given what we went through to find and get in to this school, I appreciate how incredibly lucky we are every. single. day. They don't do anything that is particularly special (or shouldn't be particularly special anyway!) It is just a regular public school with a diverse cohort of kids (though they have lots of gifties too because of their approach, which also helps)They just teach kids to their individual level, they're prepared to accelerate if need be, they interact with all the kids as individuals. We have looked a many, many schools and while they will ALL say this what they do do, once you scratch the surface it's always conditional (if it happens at all). It kills me that so many schools can't do this. But then it is rare in society in general, so perhaps it shouldn't surprise me (though chicken or egg I wonder?)
(Apologies for typos, on my phone)
