How would you define "autism?"

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One common mistake people make, even on Wrong Planet, is to "stereotype" autism and project personal experience onto everyone on WP, or on the Autism label.

But it's called a "spectrum" for a reason. People can have some, but not all, "autistic" traits and to varying degrees.

I'm just trying to work out how exactly to define "autism" so I can use that word (or Asperger's) to describe particular traits of mine and relate to others with those traits. I think of it as a healthy neurological difference, rather than a "disease."

So what would you call "autistic" traits? Some of mine would be:

- Highly logical thinking
- Pedantic, verbose, works best with the literal word
- Noticing different things than most people
- Sensitive to sudden and/or loud noise (more so as a child)
- Picky eating
- Sensory and cognitive differences lead to difficulty "getting" social norms.
- Rejection of "social norms" that don't make logical sense

http://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/autism/hcp-dsm.html

How would any of us define autism outside of the accepted clinical criteria, you mean? For me personally, the single defining thing about autism is difficulty with social interaction. That's not to say not wanting to be social in every case (for example, my classic/Kanner autistic son very much wants to be social, and is...just in a "strange" way in the opinion of others). But it's impairments in being social.

All the other characteristics seem so variable and even when they're specific, say, under the current DSM it's still subjective as to "how often," "how 'impaired'" (when that's applicable), what specifics are repetitive, and so on. And as for the sterotypes - all autistic people are good at math, for instance, or all autistic people stim - well, forget it. Those REALLY vary from person to person, in my experience.

That is a good point it is a spectum on several features fronts. Such as social sensory and many others. For example I am easily overstimulated, yet I am eloquent in social chit chat. I think it is interesting that when looking at the dsm it says for example two or more of the following, followed by a list of 12 traits. Now I am only using these made up numbers as an example, but eye contact which is a big stereotype is not needed for an official diagnosis. One thing people have said to me is that I have a high degree of fines in social conversations. I am confident, yet I have killed friendships in the past, from lack of social appropriateness. From day to day, and hour to hour it changes. I will be the james bond of a group one week, and another I will be in a dark room plucking at the piano whilst rocking intensely. Now that is me, that is not you or her, or him. I have my ways and others have theirs. A lot of autistics are extroverts and very succesfull ones. Some are as solitary as an oyster. It is a specrum in several different directions.