Another Four autism subtypes - which are you?

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So, having concluded that the April 2023 paper on autism subtypes may be bogus, I found another one:
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1386505618308669#fig0005

This paper has 5 clusters A-E - but I can't see much difference between B and D so am lumping those together.

All clusters involve poor social abilities.
But they have differences in other areas as I've tried to summarise below.
(Apologies for the use of functioning labels and Aspergers, they were used in the paper and I couldn't think of alternatives.)

Cluster A "High Functioning" - poor executive function + intact language and motor abilities.
Clusters B and D "Autism various" - poor cognitive (and executive function or academic) abilities + most;y intact motor abilities.
Cluster C "Low Functioning" - poor executive function, cognitive & academic abilities, variable language ability + may have intact motor abilities.
Cluster E "Aspergers" - impairment in executive function + intact language, motor & academic abilities.

Which one fits you, and why?
Or is this also bogus?

(I'm a Cluster E Aspergers)

Last edited by MrsPeel on 29 Jul 2023, 2:46 am, edited 1 time in total.

I haven't opened the link yet, but so far I think I'm a B/D or possibly a C.

They seem very similar with the only difference being motor ability.

Poor cognitive - Yup, in terms of scattered ADHD thought patterns, difficulty making decisions, EF, emotional regulation / understanding from Alexithymia.

Academic - I did very well in niche areas involving research, but failed miserably in others. That's not a measure of my intelligence but a measure of my poor EF and difficulty with certain types of learning (auditory and visual).

Variable language - Functional language is variable in terms of mutism. Receptive language is poor because of auditory processing delay. Non-verbal is very poor.

Motor abilities - I'm not sure what they consider the benchmark here. I've always had issues with gross motor like bumping into walls etc. Fine motor is better but both are definitely "off" compared to the norm. I tend to look rigid. I stim 24/7 even in public and have RBFBs. Everything's been worse since my first stroke but I guess that stuff wouldn't count. If they're comparing me to kids in wheelchairs then I'm fine, but compared to "normal" NTs, I do stand out as different.

I don't have a problem with executive function, so none of those would fit me. Is that some kind of prerequisite for being on the spectrum?

What about people who are super geniuses? Do they too have problems with executive function? Like Einstein? (Not that I am that.)

In the paper, it looks like some variants of Cluster E have nearly intact executive function.
So you might come under Aspergers, Bee.

Edited to add: I'm sure super-geniuses can have EF issues. Consider the state of Einstein's hair!

Looking at the charts in the paper, I'm not sure anyone in Cluster C would have the language skill to post in this forum. So I'd probably put you down as a B/D.

It's a bit hard to tell as they don't explain exactly what they include under each ability category. But Cluster D for example only has a score of 0.6 out of 1.0 for motor ability, so it's possible to be quite clumsy and still come under B/D.

Anyone else want to have a go?

I'm definitely not that clumsy, so you're right I'm likely B/D rather than C.

None of these really apply to me. E is the closest, but I don't have any impairment in executive function.

None.

Variable langage: struggling with auditory processing / issues to understand some sentences (was also bad at writings) / little speech delay when younger but can have good verbal abilities.
Bad motor skills: no comment … I could be ok in few tasks but I had delays on several child milestones. Apparently, it's very noticeable on me because I have an atypical prehension.
Bad executive functions: struggling with time monitoring / begin/stop a task / attention switching / rigidity / impulsivity / low emotional regulation.
Not academic: no. Short studies.

Maybe B or D at nearest (didn’t read the link because of low focus atm) but I have bad motor skills.

poor executive function, poor coordination, poor visual and audio processing, super high scores on reading, comprehension and vocabulary. Where would you put me? Nothing about intellectual impairment or giftedness? 30 percent of individuals diagnosed with autism are believed to have intellectual dysfunction of some sort.

I think we have too many differences to categorize us. We all have neuro developmental differences, but they can range from severe intellectual stuggles to brilliant giftedness in may ways, and sometimes all in the same individual. How to categorize that???? autism descriptions used to class us all together, "They do this" "They do that" etc etc... today science recognizes that autism is way more complicated than that. I think its way more complicated than general autism and 4 sub categories too.