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The medical model of health assumes certain aspects of mental illness are most important.  It defines the mentally ill as people who are at risk, fragile, or weak by stating that they are in need of support.  Similary, to more traditional ailments such as cancer and people's perception of cancer patients. 

The image of a delicate glass vase comes into my mind.  It is an object that is at once beautiful, breakable, and surprisingly strong.  Glass is also used to construct windows, which are capable of keeping the elements out of our homes.  However, windows have wooden or other sturdy supports.  This seems to imply that glass can benefit from a sturdy wooden support.  The converse is also true that flower stems, stalks, and branches may be placed in a vase for support. 

So my metaphor here describes concepts of strengths and weaknesses as a context-dependent, relative phenomenon.  This provides space for a lot of interesting interactions between more normal and the less normal brains, to investigate the value of neurodiversity.