Question if "Autism Spectrum Disorder" should be renamed

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Yes, let's wait. I agree.

Thats about the size of it.

Its the best possible term .... for now.

In the future they even find physical markers in the brain for some kinds of autism. Something that you can look at it in a microscope, or in some future thing like a CAT scan. So we dont have to rely on vague description based on observations of behavior.

I agree.

Yes, we need to reintroduce the old categories, like 'Asperger's Syndrome'. I don't like being called "autistic" at all; I'm not my condition, I'm not mentally handicapped, but the word "autism" has all of those very negative connotations attached to it.

Aspergers was too broad of an Autism subtype. I would name the subtypes for the most prominent traits a person has. That should clarify things for the individual and all who care for the individual.

I would agree. A separate name :-

Where there is no obvious disability & person is able to live an otherwise full life i.e "a difference"
Where ID is present
Where self harm is present
Where intelligence is normal but executive functioning is impaired preventing normal living functions
There`s probably others that i can`t think of right now

Sensory sensitivities

Why can't we just say autism?

That makes sense.

One of the issues with the diagnosis of Asperger's Syndrome was that psychologists would make that diagnosis in circumstances where the child's condition really merited a more "severe" diagnosis on the grounds that parents would accept an Asperger's diagnosis a lot easier than a more challenging diagnosis

I agree.

I dislike the term "severity" in regard to autism because 1. it implies autism is inherently bad since severe is a negative word, and 2. it implies autistic people with higher support needs are more autistic. They are more disabled, but all autistic people are the same amount of autistic. It also implies autism is ONLY a disability if more disabled people have "more severe autism." I see autism as a neurotype, and for me and many others it is a disability, and for some it is not. For me it is a disability and a strength, but people shouldn't generalize. Someone with many positive autistic traits would have "mild autism." Of course, if a high support needs autistic wants to say they have severe autism, that is fine, but I don't think it should be a medical term. I also think it wouldn't solve the problem. People would still misunderstand autism and think everyone is a bit autistic, the terminology would just change. This is unique to the wrong view of autism rather than other diagnoses with "spectrum" in the name. No one says, "We are all a little on the Fetal Alcohol Syndrome Spectrum." I'd be fine with renaming it to just Autism, though.

The phrase "Autism severity disorder" is meaningless gibberish.

1) its a 'disorder', or if you prefer...its a 'condition'. For the moment lets call it a 'disorder'.

2) And its name is 'autism'.

3) BUT...it varies in severity by individual.

Therefore the thing to call it is "autism spectrum disorder".

Now, that makes sense. Thank you!

What you call it is just a label. It doesn't have any meaning unless we give it meaning. People have the stereotypical symptoms in mind of an autistic child screaming and bouncing off the walls that they think of as autistic. It is up to us to help people realize that this is NOT autism, it is only some symptoms that some people have. When I identify as autistic, it helps people realize that you can be autistic and be mostly normal and have a very successful career but maybe just need a little extra help with social things. I really can't see any benefit in changing the label unless you just want to make people understand autism even less.

Now, that makes even more sense. Thanks!