Magic and Othering

Why giving non-neurotypical characters magical abilities doesn't have to other them.

A piece of advice you'll frequently hear, when writing neurodivergent characters, is not to give them magical abilities. There are lots of potential reasons for this - many neurodivergent people in real life feel pressure to be superhuman, for instance, to compensate for their differences. But the argument I want to focus on is another one. You shouldn't make neurodivergent characters magical, says this particular argument, because to make them magical is to other them. It marks them out as different from anyone else and less relatable.

I think that this argument has a grain of truth in it, but is mostly wrong.