Well the dictionary defines abnormal in part as "undesirable or worrying". Some of the synonyms are also derogatory. I already thought that way so it just affirmed it. The definition of atypical:

1.
not representative of a type, group, or class.
"a sample of people who are rather atypical of the target audience"
synonyms:unusual, untypical, uncommon, unconventional, unorthodox, irregular, abnormal, anomalous, aberrant, deviant, unrepresentative; More
antonyms:normal

I do notice a synonym is abnormal but I don't feel the definition is derogatory.

You can have a disorder that is disabling and still have gifts as a result of the disorder itself. Virginia Woolf is a perfect example of someone with an incredible gift to write and eventually succumbed to her depression via suicide. She deliberately refused medication because she feared loss of her ability to create and I'm sure she was right about that.

Temple grandin has taken meds and is very successful. Her way of seeing and therefore her success in agriculture is due to her autism which effects how she processes. An example of treating autism as a disorder and a gift.

Aren't you a reader? There are a couple of books by Armstrong about autism and Neuro diversity.

Neurodiversity: discovering the extraordinary gifts...

The power of neurodiversity: unleashing the advantages...

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