Reframing DSM Autism Criteria
I do psychological evaluations, consults, and therapy with autistic people, because I'm autistic, myself. I thought it might be an idea to discuss further how the DSM criteria differs from the autistic experience.
The DSM is problematic in that it's ableist, and vaguely describes autistic traits.
EVERYTHING about autism comes down to neurology- we have hyperconnected brains. We have way more synapses than neurotypicals, and it influences EVERYTHING. So, with that said, I'll break down the DSM criteria into more neurodiversity-accepting language:
A- DIFFERENT social communication and interaction as evidenced by the following:
1- Differences in communication, tendency to go off on tangents, tendency to talk passionately about special interests, and tendency to not engage in small talk.
2- Differences in nonverbal communication, including stimming while talking, looking at more interesting things while talking, and being bored in conversation because we'd rather be doing something else.
3- Due to the above differences in communication, autistic people tend to be shunned by neurotypicals and therefore are conditioned to believe that we're somehow less social. *Note- this criteria is reversed scored at Comic-Con, in a comic shop or gaming store, or when around other autistic people.
B) Repetitive behavior or interests as evidenced by at least two of the following:
1- Stimming or engaging in echolalia (the repetition of words or phrases found interesting and quotable by the autistic person)
2- Security in routines. Autistic people do not have a sensory filter, so the world is perceived as a constant state of chaos. Routines and expectations give comfort to overwhelmed autistic people.
3- SPecial INterests (SPINs)- Due to hyperconnected brains, autistic people feel more passionately about what we love, so when we have a special interest, we tend to fawn over and fixate on it. It's a level of enjoyment that neurotypical people cannot experience due to the lack of connections.
4- Hyper or hyporeactivity to stimuli- Again, due to hyperconnections, we feel things more intensely. Sometimes, however, we may feel things less intensely because we tune them out in favor of other stimuli. This is an phenomenon called Monotropism, an intense focus that’s common for autistic people. For instance, we might go outside without a coat because we're too focused on the mission at hand.
C- We're born with these traits, but learn how to mask them. Sometimes, they only show up when we're stressed and let our guards down.
D- These traits cause other people distress. Note- the DSM ONLY indicates impairment when it affects other people or jobs, but not when it's a daily issue that we learn to live with.
E- It's not due to intellectual disability. It’s often believed that Autistic people have an intellectual deficit, but neurotypical evaluators often just have an easier time identifying autistic traits in people who don’t have the ability to camouflage their traits. Also, Autistic people might perform poorly on IQ tests due to timed portions and performance anxiety. When the evaluator doesn't understand autistic people being tested, it automatically puts the evaluatee at a disadvantage, because our system resources are being used to mask WHILE also trying to complete IQ tests.
Then, you get into the levels of autism, based on how inconveniencing it is for the people around us, rather than how much support we need to be happy and healthy.
If you’d like to know more about the proposed areas for identifying Autistic people, check out the Spectrum Wheel in the Meme gallery!
