My son is 7 and nonverbal, as in your example, and I share much the same problem with the widening of the definition of autism. My partner - a successful academ

My son is 7 and nonverbal, as in your example, and I share much the same problem with the widening of the definition of autism. My partner - a successful academic - is also autistic, in the manner of your other examples. As with any term that has become too wide to be useful, it needs subdividing. There used to be autism and aspergers, high functioning autism and low functioning autism, etc. Each classification had its problems but the general idea wasn't wrong: there has to be a term for people who need support and can't function without it, to differentiate between them and the high flyers (or even just "getting by OK") and to my mind "high needs autism" is the right term. The definitions of autism as I understand them are.. interesting. The reason a highly successful person can be diagnosed is because the diagnostic criteria - usually the triad of impairments - specify a person must have difficulties but tend not to describe a way of categorising the level of those difficulties. By way of example, I might have difficulty knowing what to say to a person (social interaction) in an unfamiliar setting (social imagination) which could manifest itself as me awkwardly interacting in a way that isn't called for, but which is recognised as social awkwardness. Some autistic people may freeze - sometimes in terror - and simply stop responding while they try to work out what to do. Imagine how it feels to be lost for words, and then some. To my knowledge, both examples above fulfil the criteria because they're both social difficulties. I'd recommend reading more about the diagnostic criteria and interrogating the range of problems people can face. To me, the dividing line is independence. I'd suggest starting there in your thinking, but not forgetting that autism can also be a hidden disability insofar AW support needs might be invisible to the people around.