Growing Up Alongside a Neurotypical Sibling

My brother was the only neurotypical person in the house when we were kids.

We have an epidemic. It’s worse than pediatric AIDs, cancer, and diabetes combined. Photo by Gaspar Uhas on Unsplash

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Growing up with a neurotypical brother

I remember playing with my neurotypical brother when I was three and he was 10. Even though many people expected us not to have much of a relationship because of our age gap, I always saw him as my equal and sometimes, I was the boss. At first, I think he was just mindlessly executing scripts of social niceties that others around him associated culturally with big brotherhood. I haven’t asked him though, because why the fuck would I do that when I could just ask other 2e AuDHDers who have neurotypical siblings? Later on however, I was one of the only people who truly “got” him and we had a very unique and special bond. It often took others a little longer to really understand and get to know him compared to the rest of us at home since he simply has his own timeline for letting people into his world.

When strangers first meet us, it has always been a little bit more difficult for him to discuss the intimate details of his personal life and direct, honest emotions. I actually have never seen him cry either in all of his nearly 33 years…