"Special Needs" Applies More to Temperament Than it Does to Disability

(Possible Trigger Warning: Ableist quotes with temperament in place of disability. This is intended to be humorous/satirical.)

Needing to eat, drink, excrete wastes, sleep, learn, live in adequate shelter, have society, be as emotionally secure as possible, and to have a means of meeting these needs are among the universal needs of humans. However, when those needs have to be met unconventionally, especially in the case of disability, they become "special".

The term "special"  means "specific for a person, place, or circumstance." Universal needs are not special needs no matter how they are met. Every human has these needs regardless of any other factors. The term "special needs" in reference to disability presents universal needs among the disabled as a foreign concept. Universal needs are universal needs regardless of who has them, how they are fulfilled, or which needs crop up at what time.

On the contrary, temperamental needs are not universal to every person, but are not called "special" needs. Most people recognize temperamental needs as valid although not everyone has the same temperamental needs. Temperamental needs are more "special" than disability-related needs as they are specific to one's temperament. However, most people accommodate the temperamental needs of others and discuss temperament in order to bridge rifts and promote morale in businesses. I have never heard of anyone being actively discriminated against based on their DiSC type or MBTI. However, discussion of disability-related needs, which are in direct correlation with universal needs, seems to create rifts between others rather than bridge them. Discrimination based on disability is more common than discrimination based on temperament. (I can't use statistics for effect because I don't have empirical data on this.)


I have also never heard anyone say the following:

"Oh, you're supine? That's such a pity. I had a relative who used to be a supine, but with (arcane pseudoscience/therapy/hard work/abuse), s/he became (other temperament).

"You're not a real sanguine. I know X, who is a real sanguine."

"You must be a very high-functioning phlegmatic."

"It's 'person with melancholy,' not 'melancholic!"

"I could see why X murdered their choleric child. Cholerics are such a burden on society. These pseudo-choleric 'advocates' have no idea what they're talking about. Haven't they walked in a parent's shoes?"

I see less active perpetuation of negative temperamental stereotypes than I do with disability stereotypes. Sure, there are negative temperamental stereotypes, but they are strongly discouraged and are rarely used to attack others. Temperament enthusiasts also take into account other factors that can play into making the individual such as upbringing, physical health, life experiences, gender, age, and other factors. With disability, however, diagnostic overshadowing leads one to overlook these factors along with temperament.

Diagnostic overshadowing can lead one to believe that temperamental characteristics are parts of a disability/illness when they are not. A choleric and a phlegmatic with the same condition will manage it differently. The choleric goes about their life with great levels of alacrity and energy no matter their
 circumstances while phlegmatics are more laid-back. Diagnostic overshadowing would lead one to believe that the said choleric's illness is "not that bad" when the choleric is just using their internal motivation to work around their illness. Meanwhile, the phlegmatic's fatigue may look like the main
issue when it is not. The choleric's temperamental needs are control and dominance, which a
phlegmatic avoids because assertion taxes their energy reserves.

My question is: Why are disability needs considered "special" and dismissed when they are just about how universal needs are met when temperamental needs, which are not universal, are considered and validated as actual needs?  I am an autistic choleric-sanguine, not a choleric-sanguine with autism or an autistic with choler and sanguine. My autism-related needs are as valid as my choleric-sanguine-related needs. These parts make the whole I am. Take away either part and I will not be who I am. My need for control is more "special" than my need to avoid foods that will make me vomit. I wish for all needs to be respected as valid no matter what they are and how they are to be met.

Autistic/ADHD ENTP (#16Disabilities)

I am an autistic ENTP. Since being an ENTP is a fairly new identity to me, I cannot delve into it as deeply as I would like to. ENTPs are, as a rule, dynamic and adaptable. ENTPs enjoy diving headfirst into new ideas and experiences. They are curious and a witty sense of humor. This MBTI opposes the stereotypical image of "autistic person," which is why I appear to be very "high-functioning" to most people (or maybe I'm a low-functioning ENTP).

I never really feel flustered or upset during breaks in the routine. In fact, I welcome reprieve from the routine. I intuited some aspects of social skills using my thinking function. I did things because no one said I couldn't do them. I pushed boundaries, experimented, gained awareness of the world through ideas, and took on seemingly insurmountable challenges. I had it easier than most, but no life is ever without its downfalls.

I didn't know I was an ENTP until recently. I mistyped as INTJ due to my pretending to be an introvert. Part of that I attribute to being in an introverted family and another part is fear of failure in general. I would rather have the entire world collapse around me than fail to meet a goal I have set for myself. For me, being an extrovert, rejection is failure. I feel rejection is a symphony of pain. The acute stabbing pangs of initial, direct rejections and dull, lingering aches from repeated or perceived rejections leave me erecting defensive walls as armor. 

Most things I do I do out of spite or sheer curiosity. I have rapidly shifting passions and find it difficult to commit to one thing. In order to decide that I wanted to play flute, I tried every other instrument available (clarinet, trumpet, euphonium, and saxophone) before deciding on the flute. It is not uncommon for me to stick with something I did on an impulse. I joined band entirely on a whim and it's an impulse I'm glad I followed. I also started blogging on an impulse, sometimes shifting my niche with no apparent reason other than that I need spontaneity. "P" types tend to be spontaneous in their doings.

I tend to move and fidget when I sit and take notes, but not very conspicuously. I'll jiggle my leg, twirl a pencil, and doodle random things. When I read, I listen to music when I do it because it helps me focus. Others would think it a distraction, but it helps me. I need immersive environments in order to be productive while others would find such a thing overwhelming. In order to swim, I need a "sea of stimulation," as I would call it, whereas others who are content with stimulation pools would feel like they are drowning. I like diving right into new ideas and experiences, but it takes me a few deep breaths to work up the courage to jump into the water.

Image Description:

1.  A horizontal bar graph titled "Your personality type is the debater (ENTP-A). Next to the graph is a fair-skinned, dark-haired man drawn in a geometric style smirking and saying "May I point out a couple mistakes in your argument?" At the bottom is a cyan button that says "Send results by E-mail."
1. Green bar=21% Extraverted 
2. Blue bar=56% Intuitive
3. Red bar=30% Thinking
4. Yellow bar=18% Prospecting 
5. Purple Bar=9% Assertive

The Final MBTI Verdict

So, am I an INTJ or an ENTJ? The correct answer is: Neither. After waffling between ENTJ and INTJ for the longest time, I settled on ENTJ for some time. It seemed to suit me because I like to lead. However, after some self-speculation, I found out that I couldn't quite be a those types because I don't like to be restrained to a plan with no way out. I am also more interested in understanding people than making them do my will (which is a close second).

Before I give you the answer, I'll have you play a game to guess my type (read: give you a series of frustrating hints). Scroll past the game if you are an impatient person (like me) and just want to know my MBTI.

• It is an NT type.
• This type likes to debate and tear other people's ideas apart for fun.
• It is known for mentally sparring purely for the sake of pleasure.
• Other types are likely to think of this type as mean-spirited due to their aforementioned pastime.
• This type can come up with great ideas, but will be miserable doing the "grunt work" in order to carry into fruition.
• This type is vehemently protective of INFJs (not that they need it) due to sheer instinct.
• In four temperament theory, this type corresponds with LaHaye's ChlorSan or SanChlor depending on what you think of this type.
• This type is a thrill seeker and experience junkie. Someone of this type would do something just so they could tell stories about it.
• This type works in bursts of energy rather than having a steady, systematic approach to working.
• This type has little to no boundaries for work and play. They work as play, play as work, make work fun by adding play, and make play productive by adding work. 
• As a rule, people of this type are very adaptable.
• Anyone who knows someone of this type (or is this type) knows what I'm talking about.

I took the 16 Personalities test again and got this result:

ENTP-A (Debater): 21% Extroverted 54% Intuitive 30% Thinking 18% Prospecting 9% Assertive

16 Personalities describes ENTPs, called Debaters, as "smart, curious thinkers who cannot resist an intellectual challenge." That sounds like me. The reason that I started a blog is to pick ideas apart, put them back together, and combine them with new ideas. NTs, such as myself, pursue knowledge relentlessly, especially in our areas of interest. 

The "P" in "ENTP" stands for prospecting. Prospecting types are, as a rule, spontaneous and adaptable to whatever change comes their way. My sporadic blogging "schedule" as well as my abrupt switching from one thing to the next is reflective of the "P" I tried to repress for so long. Though I do not always seem like it, I am an adaptable person. I can adapt myself to fit almost any situation as I see fit. I respond to my environment and the people around me. Five different people who see me in their five respective environments will have five different general ideas as to how they perceive me. This is not that I am a phony or acting a part. It is within my nature to adapt in such a way.

Whenever I see a general value, my first instinct is to find the exception to the rule or to attempt to tear a shoddily-built idea into shreds. No matter whose it is, be it Dr. David Keirsey's or my own, I will test the strength of my ideas. I wondered why I didn't do well working slowly and steadily. I work in spontaneous bursts of energy and keep going for as long as that burst of energy will sustain itself. However, I cannot be productive once the burst is gone. 

I was told to determine my MBTI by use of Jungian cognitive functions, which are as follows:

• Extroverted Sensing (Se)
• Introverted Sensing (Si)
• Extroverted Intuition (Ne)
• Introverted Intuition (Ni)
• Extroverted Thinking (Te)
• Introverted Thinking (Ti)
• Extroverted Feeling (Fe)
• Introverted Thinking (Fi)

My cognitive functions are as follows:

If the image does not load on your device or if you are using a text reader to gather information from my blog, the percentages are as follows:

• Extroverted Intuition : 84%
• Introverted Intuition: 79%
• Extroverted Sensation: 57%
• Introverted Sensation: 24%
• Extroverted Thinking: 72%
• Introverted Thinking: 75%
• Extroverted Feeling: 32%
• Introverted Feeling: 56%

I have been testing as types with completely different cognitive functions. In the ENTJ, extroverted thinking is the dominant function; introverted intuition predominates in INTJs. The way I could connect hidden meanings and other contexts did not fit dominant Te or Ni users. Extroverted thinkers lay out facts as correlations on charts, which is some of what I do, but introverted thinking fits me more, though it is not my dominant cognitive function. Introverted intuitors use transcendent understanding to predict the future as it unfurls. Ni users use complex, symbolic ways to explain universal themes of life. While I use a fairly great deal of Ni considering that it is a shadow function, weaving "idea threads" together into a fabric of understanding is characteristic of Ne users. 

My Disability and the Five Temperaments series came into fruition by sole virtue of Ne and Ti. As I penned the series, my main thought was "How could most people have failed to notice these connections?" I had two different ideas in front of me, completely independent concepts that seemed to have no relationship to each other, and I uncovered the connections because (1) no one else would and (2) because they were right in front of our faces all along, but we failed to notice them. 

ENTPs are limit pushers by nature. The phrase "It can't be done" is a challenge that invites ENTPs to prove that it can be done. I thought I wouldn't be able to run a blog, let alone have it reach 10,000 pageviews! However, because ENTPs are known for stubborn, I kept doing it. Though ENTPs are usually the subjects of glurge-y "inspiration" due to the feats they achieve, I have yet to see another ENTP disability blogger. In the meantime, I'll keep being the ENTP voice in this predominantly INFX community--and ENTProud of the part I play. 

Useful Links:

• Learn about Jungian cognitive functions.
• Learn about ENTPs.
• Take the 16 Personalities test.

Thanks To

• 16 Personalities for their awesome website
• All researchers behind discovering what MBTI is
• Personality Cafe and their wise members, who helped me to realize I was an ENTP in the first place