Question if "Autism Spectrum Disorder" should be renamed

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My logic is maladaptive.

Yes I can tell

He's not a troll. He is just trying to understand things that are hard for him to understand.

I think so too

You are correct except for one thing. A spectrum is not a gradient. Autistic people don't range from mild to severe. No Autistic person is more Autistic than any other Autistic person. You don't have degrees of Autism. Just like you don't have degrees of diabetes. You either have it or you don't. Someone might struggle more severely in specific areas than someone else but we all have the same degree of Autism. Just like you would never say, this person has a little bit of diabetes and that person has a lot because that person is an amputee. The particular struggles will vary in severity levels from person to person but you either have Autism or you don't. It's not like John only has a touch of Autism while Larry has a lot of Autism.

It should be renamed Social Communication Sensory Disorder. Autism is an outdated term that originally only described those who are non-verbal and delayed. I think I would be much more open about it if it was called something else. Most people do judge a book by its cover* and I prefer to have a label that is less misleading.

* What most people in general think autism is: ret*d or psychopath
What autism is: a range of behaviours

The autism spectrum is becoming too wide these days that soon everybody will be somewhere on the spectrum. Or maybe every neurological condition/disability will be lumped in with autism, so that there'll only be two groups of humans: autistic and neurotypical. The autism spectrum is so wide that it might as well be.

I don't really care what they call it. What bothers ME is that people (ND or NT ) still have this, " Ew, I don't want to be included with THEM" attitude.

The range of symptoms for people on the Autistic Spectrum is vast.

Same as the "range of symptoms" for people with Spina Bifida.

They should call it "the range of symptoms syndrome".

Personally I don't have a problem with autism being called autism.

I agree.

In a way, the same type within the asd already has differences in the prognoses of two people with the same label that can push them apart, put them all together and squeezed under the same umbrella, that just makes the work more disorganized and takes more time to find the diagnosis and the therapies that fits to you.

I am sorry, my logic is odd and eccentric, but I am not so stupid. Although, I have trouble with some areas of Intellectual, mostly failed most academics throughout most of my school history and mild problems with adaptive functioning. I know how to take do some basic life skills, I however cannot take care of myself for my chronological age at 21, mentally, I am sometimes 12 years old, and a 15 year old, depending on the situation.

I am sorry, I can't help it! I am however able to learn, I am just very slow for my chronological age at learning new things.

That kinda makes sense. IF you have to change the name change it to something descriptive. "Social impairment disorder" maybe.

And you're right that folks tend to equate autism with either retardation, or with sociopathy. Niether of which is in the same universe as autism.

Last edited by naturalplastic on 21 Jul 2022, 3:00 pm, edited 1 time in total.

I agree as well.

Well if that is true then....you need to inform the entire medical establishment that they are ALL wrong. For years the mental health community has informally spoken of autistic as being 'high functioning, and low functioning,...". And now the DSM formally splits us up into three levels according to how much support we need. Basically making the colloguial and 'functioning levels' of before into official diagnostic labels.

I think we need to remove ASD Level 1,2 and 3, because the support we need for ASD can fluctuate and also Eikonabridge viewtopic.php?t=380673 and I made an argument that you only need diagnostic criteria B to have Autism Spectrum Disorder, as there are some people with Autism Spectrum Disorder that are well developed to have social skills, but I think that the diagnostic criteria A for Autism Spectrum Disorder should still stay as it is but needs to be changed.

All you need is to meet during developmental stages are:


(Not everyone with ASD will have the same symptoms)


B. Restricted, repetitive patterns of behavior, interests, or activities, as manifested by at least two of the following, currently or by history (examples are illustrative, not exhaustive; see text):

1. Stereotyped or repetitive motor movements, use of objects, or speech (e.g., simple motor stereotypies, lining up toys or flipping objects, echolalia, idiosyncratic phrases).

2. Insistence on sameness, inflexible adherence to routines, or ritualized patterns of verbal or nonverbal behavior (e.g., extreme distress at small changes, difficulties with transitions, rigid thinking patterns, greeting rituals, need to take same route or eat same food every day).

3. Highly restricted, fixated interests that are abnormal in intensity or focus (e.g.,
strong attachment to or preoccupation with unusual objects, excessively circumscribed or perseverative interests).

4. Hyper- or hyporeactivity to sensory input or unusual interest in sensory aspects of the environment (e.g., apparent indifference to pain/temperature, adverse response to specific sounds or textures, excessive smelling or touching of objects,
visual fascination with lights or movement).


Criteria A should be reserved when symptoms of ASD is more severe:



A. Persistent deficits in social communication and social interaction across multiple contexts, as manifested by the following, currently or by history (examples are illustrative, not exhaustive; see text):

1. Deficits in social-emotional reciprocity, ranging, for example, from abnormal social approach and failure of normal back-and-forth conversation; to reduced sharing of interests, emotions, or affect; to failure to initiate or respond to social interactions.

2. Deficits in nonverbal communicative behaviors used for social interaction, ranging, for example, from poorly integrated verbal and nonverbal communication; to abnormalities in eye contact and body language or deficits in understanding and use of gestures; to a total lack of facial expressions and nonverbal communication.

3. Deficits in developing, maintaining, and understanding relationships, ranging, for ex-ample, from difficulties adjusting behavior to suit various social contexts; to difficulties in sharing imaginative play or in making friends; to absence of interest in peers.



There should be some changes in the diagnostic criteria for Autism Spectrum Disorder.

For diagnostic criteria A and 3, you don't need to meet "Deficits in developing, maintaining, and understanding relationships"

Criteria A and 3 should be: Deficits in developing, maintaining, and understanding relationships and/ or ranging, for ex-ample, from difficulties adjusting behavior to suit various social contexts; to difficulties in sharing imaginative play or in making friends; to absence of interest in peers.

I think you should meet at least 2 of the diagnostic criteria A for Autism Spectrum Disorder, as not everyone with Autism Spectrum Disorder will have all the symptoms of the diagnostic criteria A, B and/ or both.