3 ms·
But researchers and clinicians don't believe that ASD is a single disorder. No professional assumes that clinical classification implies only a single underlyin
by threatofrain 5y ago
But researchers and clinicians don't believe that ASD is a single disorder. No professional assumes that clinical classification implies only a single underlying etiology, and a cluster of phenotypes for clinical distress is precisely what a classification is for.
- skissane 5y agoIn Waterhouse's book, she isn't simply assuming that "ASD is a single disorder". (Although she does argue that if you study the history of ASD research, a lot of it has been based on that assumption, and that even in recent years people still get funding for research projects which effectively presume that.) One of her arguments in particular is that the tying of the two symptom domains of social impairments and repetitive behaviours into a single disorder – or group of related disorders, or spectrum – (she doesn't think those three different framings of "ASD" ultimately change the conclusion) lacks good scientific justification. But, that was one of Kanner's most basic assumptions, and if you break that link what you have isn't autism anymore – you've actually got something much closer to her own proposal of "phenotypes of neurodevelopmental social impairment" (or, DSM-5 social pragmatic communication disorder with the repetitive behaviour exclusion removed)