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“The difference between people diagnosed with autism and the rest of the population is shrinking. ”

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The following article is currently being re-tweeted about ATM.

https://amp.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2019/aug/26/autism-neurodiversity-severe?CMP=share_btn_tw&__twitter_impression=true

“the difference between people diagnosed with autism and the rest of the population is shrinking. The autism spectrum is so all-encompassing that experts are now finally starting to question the validity of the term itself. After studying the meta-analyses of autism data, Dr Laurent Mottron, a professor at Université de Montréal, concluded that: “The objective difference between people with autism and the general population will disappear in less than 10 years. The definition of autism may get too vague to be meaningful.””

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  • in reply to Plastic

    Unfortunately, that article was written by an autistic person!

    I don't think that we very often blend 'imperceptibly' into the wider population (some of us, yes) - the fact that it's so common for us to have been bullied at school (or college or work) and to have had trouble making/keeping friends and relationships (again, not all of us, and not all of those things for those of us who do experience them) shows that the blending in really isn't 'imperceptible'.

    I've also read quite a few accounts of people with working lives/professions where they just 'blend in' within that field, as it's an area which tends to attract people quite similar to them (whether that's autistic or overly technically/logically-minded or 'eccentric' or very reserved people). So in those cases, I'd argue that those autistic people have found a place where they can 'blend in' (to whatever degree) within that setting but not necessarily within the wider population.