You said autistic children are a burden. That they ruin families. That they’ll never pay taxes or write poems. That they are, in essence, collateral damage.
I’d like to introduce you to my daughter.
You said autistic children are a burden. That they ruin families. That they’ll never pay taxes or write poems. That they are, in essence, collateral damage.
I’d like to introduce you to my daughter.
All individuals diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) experience challenges with social communication and interaction, and exhibit restricted or repetitive behaviors or interests. These are the core diagnostic criteria for ASD, and they are well defined.
The “spectrum” part of the disorder refers to the fact that these can vary in severity, but in order to be diagnostically relevant, they must “cause clinically significant impairment in social, occupational, or other important areas of current functioning.” Being awkward and liking math is not ASD unless it meets that standard.
In any event, splitting ASD into distinct disorders by severity was not seen as clinically useful by the editors of the DSM, presumably after much consideration. If you wish to argue that level of severity between one symptom or another should be treated as a separate disorder, you can reach out to the Board of Trustees of the APA – maybe you’ll get your wish in the DSM VI.