The more correct way is to think about it as a prisms. It is multi dimensional.

Also it is for autistic people. It grinds my gears when people say "everyone is on the spectrum", no, just no. Again it is only for autistic people and you need to have support needs to be diagnosed with autism. You don't get a diagnosis for being quirky and a little weird.

And no, just because someone is verbal and seems to be very articulate does not mean the person has low support needs or vice versa.

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AnthonyMouse an hour ago | parent | next [-]

> you need to have support needs to be diagnosed with autism. You don't get a diagnosis for being quirky and a little weird.

The problem is the people who actually have support needs are often not in a stable job with great insurance, and then they don't have access to the "get an official diagnosis" machinery. At which point you have to choose between respecting a self-diagnosis even if they're often wrong, or not respecting it even if they're often right.

	▲	cardanome an hour ago \| parent [-]
		Oh yes, absolutely. Self-diagnosis is valid. It is still important to get a official diagnosis if one can but yeah the reality is that it can be a very long process and not in reach for some people.

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d1sxeyes 3 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

I find this take quite challenging, although I know it is one shared by a lot of autistic people.

I understand that if a person has no support needs, they cannot be diagnosed with autism. But that person may still be neurodivergent, and therefore to me it seems to follow that you have folks who are autistic with high support needs, and folks who are autistic with low support needs. Then, you have neurodivergent folks with no support needs. But this seems to me like a difference in degree, rather than category, and which would mean that the “spectrum” analogy works quite well.

With a clear understanding that I am not trying to minimise the struggles autistic people face, a sincere desire to learn, and an open mind, would you mind trying to help me understand?

	▲	cardanome an hour ago \| parent [-]
		Autism is something you are born with. It is simply who you are. Support needs can change over time. You can need less help because you learn better coping strategies and have a stable environment or you can need more as you get older. It is not fixed. Support needs are denoted in level because that is what system like schools and the like need. They don't really map to reality. Like for example a autistic person can have really bad sensory issues, being really sensitive to sounds, restricted diet and the like but decent social skill. Another autistic person might not have any sensory issues but really struggle with social stuff. Who needs more help? They need different kinds of help.

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prepend 2 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

Everyone is on the spectrum, but only some are diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder. So there’s a tipping point or dividing frequency in the spectrum that moves people into disorder.

	▲	cardanome an hour ago \| parent [-]
		Having Covid is a spectrum from having nearly no or even no symptoms to having really bad symptoms. Just because everyone experiences having a running nose from time to time, does not mean everyone has Covid. Autism is not the only way your brain can be different from other people.

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QuercusMax 3 hours ago | parent | prev [-]

I guess it depends on whether you consider RGB(0,0,0) to be on the same spectrum as RGB(100,0, 100) or RGB(100, 150, 100).

RGB(10,10,10) may be awfully dark but it's definitely not black. On the spectrum doesn't necessarily mean you have clinically relevant difficulties.

	▲	cardanome 43 minutes ago \| parent [-]
		The more helpful way to think about is that the neurotypical brain is like RGB(63.32, 12.3, 73.02) but with thousands or maybe millions of variables. If certain values are significantly lower or bigger it might cause you trouble. Having Autism is one cluster of values you can have. So is having ADHD. So is having Trauma. And many more things. And you can and often have multiple things at once and their symptoms overlap.