Some people say that Autism Spectrum Disorder is not a developmental delay, but w neurological difference. It's confusing!

I think the diagnostic criteria are very misleading and unnecessarily pathologising.  There are differences, yes, but these criteria focus on perceived deficits and don't present a whole and balanced picture of how it is to be autistic. 

So it seems to me that the confusion might depend upon how much credence you give to the DSM.  And also whether you find the term "autism spectrum disorder" to really reflect the truth of the matter.  After all, don't forget that homosexuality appeared in the DSM 1 as a mental disorder.  And the DSM changes with every iteration.  Classifications, sub-classifications, terms merging or disappearing (like "Asperger's") etc.   

Just my personal take on it, but if I focussed on how I'm seen in the DSM (instead of listening to autistic voices and seeking out autistic-led resources), I might find that I also began to meet their criteria for depression!

I think the diagnostic criteria are very misleading and unnecessarily pathologising.  There are differences, yes, but these criteria focus on perceived deficits and don't present a whole and balanced picture of how it is to be autistic. 

So it seems to me that the confusion might depend upon how much credence you give to the DSM.  And also whether you find the term "autism spectrum disorder" to really reflect the truth of the matter.  After all, don't forget that homosexuality appeared in the DSM 1 as a mental disorder.  And the DSM changes with every iteration.  Classifications, sub-classifications, terms merging or disappearing (like "Asperger's") etc.   

Just my personal take on it, but if I focussed on how I'm seen in the DSM (instead of listening to autistic voices and seeking out autistic-led resources), I might find that I also began to meet their criteria for depression!

That's such a great point. Even realising that previous bouts of 'depression' were most likely (at least partially) burnout or shutdown takes an awareness of voices with much more nuanced expression of the lived autistic experience than anything in the DSM. Nonetheless, I'm still glad that it exists as a way to perform diagnosis/confirmation, even if it has an imperfect and initially pathologising framework for doing so. With that certainty, I felt I had permission (so to speak) to go researching more productively and knowing I was encountering stuff that was authentically bespoke to the way I'd always been - divergent.