Intellectualizing

If I can’t ask “is this caused by autism?” what do I do?

Of course we need to recognize what people can do, and not hold them to an unrealistic standard. They may be limited by age and developmental level. They may be limited by their genetics. They may be limited by a physical disability. They may be limited by traumatic life experiences.

Does autism exist?

Of course the traits and people we currently classify as autistic are real. But perhaps there’s no out-there-in-the-world objective reason to draw a circle in the continuum of reality surrounding precisely those phenomena we currently call “autism.” Alternative circles may have more practical and explanatory power. Dr.

What should professionals tell those in their care?

Current science appears to be out of sync with current professional practice.

Are autistic traits contextual functional difficulties or lifelong differences?

Say you are creating a measure of autism (or its component traits) — a checklist or questionnaire of some kind. Some questions would tend to be relatively stable (less likely to change across multiple administrations to the same individual, even as the individual’s skills improve).

Where am I coming from?

Long ago somewhere I can’t remember, I read a discussion of knowing what vs. knowing how. The author’s thought experiment was about walking. Imagine walking with conscious planning, thinking consciously about each muscle and movement involved. Attempting to do this makes us terrible at walking. When I find myself struggling with social or motor skills, this is the feeling. My impression of my son is the same.