Person Three might be able to be independent in adulthood if given the stimulation and accommodations they require in order to feel comfortable and be able to learn. If the only thing stopping this person from being witty, social, and vivacious is a motor-control problem, then are they truly “more” autistic than Person One? However, people like Carly Fleischmann and Ido Kedar have taught us that in fact they are very socially aware and understand pragmatic speech quite well.Ĭarly’s interview style in her Youtube show Speechless, for example, is extremely witty and flirtatious in a way that many an “aspie” would be unable to imitate. Person Two is the type of person who is often described as “severely autistic” since they cannot speak and do not appear to understand what goes on around them. Person One would probably be described as “aspie” or “high-functioning,” even though their monotropic mindset might cause executive function problems and make it hard to live and work independently. Here are some examples of how autism could manifest in three different people.Īs you can see, all three of these hypothetical autistics show classic signs of autism, and yet they all seem very different from one another. But each person’s dominant colour palette may look different. Some commonalities are less obvious and are not required for diagnosis but are almost universally-reported by autistic people.Įach autistic person is affected strongly enough in one or more categories for it to be disabling in some way. Diagnosis depends on evidence that you do span the spectrum in observable ways. Autistic people will understand your struggles and welcome you as a fellow neurodivergent cousin, but that’s it.īut in order for a person to be considered autistic, they must have difficulty in multiple categories spanning the spectrum. Having sensory processing issues doesn’t make you “a little autistic.” It makes you someone with sensory processing problems. That’s like saying that you are dressed “a little rainbowy” when you are only wearing red. You can see how ridiculous it seems, therefore, when someone says “we’re all a little autistic” because they also hate fluorescent lights or because they also feel awkward in social situations. If you ONLY have sensory processing issues then that is sensory processing disorder.īut if you have all of the above and more, they call it autism. If you ONLY have problems with body movement/control then that is called dyspraxia or developmental coordination disorder. If you only check one or two boxes, then they don’t call it autism– they call it something else.įor example, if you ONLY struggle with communication, then they call that social communication disorder. The autism spectrum looks more like this: Pragmatic language, social awareness, monotropic Mindset, information processing, sensory processing, repetitive behaviors, neuromotor differences.Īll autistic people are affected in one way or another in most or all of these boxes – a rainbow of traits. It is a collection of related neurological conditions that are so intertwined and so impossible to pick apart that professionals have stopped trying. That’s because autism isn’t one condition. In fact, one of the distinguishing features of autism is what the DSM-V calls an “uneven profile of abilities.” There’s a reason people like to say that “if you have met one person with autism, you’ve met one person with autism.” Every autistic person presents slightly differently. People think you can be “a little autistic” or “extremely autistic,” the way a paint colour could be a little red or extremely red. They don’t say “my walls are on the high end of the spectrum” or “I look best in colours that are on the low end of the spectrum.”īut when people talk about autism they talk as if it were a gradient, not a spectrum at all. When people discuss colours, they don’t talk about how “far along” the spectrum a colour is. Blue looks very different from red, but they are both on the visible light spectrum. Let’s use the visible spectrum as an example.Īs you can see, the various parts of the spectrum are noticeably different from each other. If only people knew what a spectrum is … because they are talking about autism all wrong. “I’m not autistic but I’m definitely ‘on the spectrum.'” “We’re all a little autistic– it’s a spectrum.” “My son is on the severe end of the autism spectrum.” “Autism is a Spectrum” Doesn’t Mean What You Think.Choosing a Good– or Bad– Therapist for Your Autistic Child.Directory of NeuroDivergent Graphic Designers & Illustrators.Directory of Specialists Diagnosing Autism (ASD) in Adults.Directory of NonSpeaker Pages, Blogs, & Media.AAC: Augmentative & Alternative Communication.
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