BBC In Depth: the ongoing battle to define autism

I have tried to keep up with this thread as much as I can but it's now very long so apologies if im repeating what someone else has said.

It's worth considering the medical model we currently have quite often treats symptoms not underlying causes. Treatment is often about alleviating symptoms not getting to the root of the problem. Then other symptoms appear...treatment to alleviate and so on . Then one becomes a set of individual symptoms and diagnoses. What gets lost in all this is the individual as a person and how all their parts make a whole.

You can't cure autism, but how much of our difficulties are affected by environment... inside and outside our bodies? Harmful chemicals, pollution, microplastics, UPFs, etc etc all ubiquitous in our society. What else? A pace of life which is getting faster, louder, brighter - all these things moving away from our natural home. This affects everyone but in particular those who are more sensitive. Im not saying these things cause autism, but they dont do anything to help.

Autists have a (more/differently?) sensitive nervous system. We communicate and process the world differently to the predominant neurotype.

This leads to a perpetual load on our bodies in all sorts of ways. But I think the biggest one is chronic stress. This will lead to physical disease and illness. Cardiovascular....gut health....the list goes on. Show me an autistic person who doesn't have any additional health problems which are not caused by stress. Added to that are difficulties in seeking help due to difficulties with processing and communication.

Our mental health and physical health are inextricably linked. We are inextricably linked to our environment - we are part of it but this idea is lost in the modern world.

What's my point here? Firstly, a diagnosis or recognition helps us to understand ourselves but on its own doesn't help on a practical level going forward. Our environment needs to change. I think I read someone on the forum say their strategy is to look after themselves. I think this is wise because our modern world is not built for humans let alone certain types. Recognition of being neurodivergent helps us understand what we are up against and why. Then, hopefully, it's up to the individual to consider "how".
Secondly, not going down the phrase of "snowflake" but treating people as individual human beings with compassion and a sense of - this person has problems how can we support them to get to a place of good health? And, how can this person be supported to help themselves?

I dont know if im missing the point in this thread but I really wanted to add my own perception. 

I have tried to keep up with this thread as much as I can but it's now very long so apologies if im repeating what someone else has said.

It's worth considering the medical model we currently have quite often treats symptoms not underlying causes. Treatment is often about alleviating symptoms not getting to the root of the problem. Then other symptoms appear...treatment to alleviate and so on . Then one becomes a set of individual symptoms and diagnoses. What gets lost in all this is the individual as a person and how all their parts make a whole.

You can't cure autism, but how much of our difficulties are affected by environment... inside and outside our bodies? Harmful chemicals, pollution, microplastics, UPFs, etc etc all ubiquitous in our society. What else? A pace of life which is getting faster, louder, brighter - all these things moving away from our natural home. This affects everyone but in particular those who are more sensitive. Im not saying these things cause autism, but they dont do anything to help.

Autists have a (more/differently?) sensitive nervous system. We communicate and process the world differently to the predominant neurotype.

This leads to a perpetual load on our bodies in all sorts of ways. But I think the biggest one is chronic stress. This will lead to physical disease and illness. Cardiovascular....gut health....the list goes on. Show me an autistic person who doesn't have any additional health problems which are not caused by stress. Added to that are difficulties in seeking help due to difficulties with processing and communication.

Our mental health and physical health are inextricably linked. We are inextricably linked to our environment - we are part of it but this idea is lost in the modern world.

What's my point here? Firstly, a diagnosis or recognition helps us to understand ourselves but on its own doesn't help on a practical level going forward. Our environment needs to change. I think I read someone on the forum say their strategy is to look after themselves. I think this is wise because our modern world is not built for humans let alone certain types. Recognition of being neurodivergent helps us understand what we are up against and why. Then, hopefully, it's up to the individual to consider "how".
Secondly, not going down the phrase of "snowflake" but treating people as individual human beings with compassion and a sense of - this person has problems how can we support them to get to a place of good health? And, how can this person be supported to help themselves?

I dont know if im missing the point in this thread but I really wanted to add my own perception. 

I think you're right Wanderer, the world is so busy.

One question I'd like to ask, is how do we define neurotypicality? I ask because thinking back some years I remember big debates on mental health, or rather mental illhealth, and nobody really knew what being mentally healthy actually was.

I think what I'm trying to say is our culture for diagnoses, plus the effects of the modern world may account for a rise in autism or neurodivergent conditions being diagnosed, and the definition becoming broader.