So then what exactly is the spectrum?

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I believe that the Autism Spectrum may be just as arbitrary as Aspergers is. First, how closely connected are all the forms of Autistic Disorder? According to wikipedia genes are believed to play a larger role in Aspergers than in tradition autism and I might have an explanation: as Autistic Disorder is more severe less is known about individuals with it think, so it actually encompasses multiple unrelated things that just display identical symptoms. For example Autism can be caused by Fragile X, but that is certainly not the only possible cause. It would also explain why more people are diagnosed with AD than AS, as it includes more groups of people. I believe that AS may also actually multiple things, but they are more closely related and/or less diverse. I believe that in many cases HFA is the same thing as AS, but not LFA, even though the diagnosis says otherwise.

I also believe that many things considered off spectrum are more closely related to AS than some forms of Autism, for example ADHD. Appatently they are close enough that ADHD is grouped with this board instead of the other disorders and I have seen threads suggesting a genetic relation before. I'm also interested in seeing if there is any genetic relations between AS and other disorders and non-disorder conditions.

In the I guess I want to say that I want to see a spectrum more based on genetics or something than behaviors as it's more likely to imply a simularity in thinking and other internal stuff, which I believe a more important than Skinnerian theory says they are and understanding what's goes on beneath the surface may be vital for effective treatment ( for the problems, I'm not looking for any cure). For example Autism used to be grouped with Schizophrenia and many of the symptoms are the same (Autism used to be Symptom of Schizophrenia), but comparing the brains shows that the causes might be opposite: Autistic brains tend to be "overdeveloped" while Schizophrenic brains tend to be "underdeveloped". Anyone else feel the same way?

I think you might be on the right track. Neurological differences cause autistic behaviors, this is true. Fragile X, tuberous sclerosis, traumatic brain injuries, all of these and more can cause autistic behaviors but this isn't necessarily the same as Autism.

I've been thinking of all the sensory and other neurological factors that make up the Autistic spectrum as more of a 4th dimensional sound mixing board than a single spectrum if that makes sense. If the settings are within a particular range defined as normal the person is neurotypical. The truth is though, that probably no one is actually 100% neurotypical. What everyone around here has been calling NT I'd rather think of as mundane. There are any number of ways that the slides could be set to come up with any number of diagnoses.

Unfortunately, no one can be told what the spectrum is.

You have to see it for yourself.

I think more precision is coming in future. If KB qualifies and wants to cooperate she'll be in a research study using fMRI and MEG. They want to look at what the autistic brain does during language tasks or some such.

Does for me. Anyway:

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0133093/