3 ms·

Is Autism a Biological Entity?

3 points by AndrewDucker 3y ago

AndrewDucker 3y ago
By "biological entity" they mean "Is there a biological thing which definitively makes you autistic by its presence". It very-much looks like autism is in fact a bunch of symptoms in a trenchcoat, with a variety of different causes which all end up being grouped together.
PaulHoule 3y ago
… maybe in 100 years people see schizotypy hiding in plain sight. I’m pretty sure many if not most self-diagnosed “autists” really have that.
bell-cot 3y ago
There's a pretty firm "NO" in the first two paragraphs: > There has been no single cause or pathophysiology found to be unique to all those with autism, but current diagnostic criteria are linked to nearly two hundred genetic and environmental reported causes. The current DSM-5 criteria for an autism spectrum diagnosis (ASD) allow hundreds of varied patterns of persistent deficits in social communication and social interaction, and myriad patterns of restricted and repetitive activities and interests. This wide phenotypical heterogeneity –which appears to have markedly increased in the two last decades–has led many researchers to question the validity of the ASD diagnosis. > The papers in this special section explore varied aspects of the relationship between the many biological causes of autism and the heterogeneity of diagnostic symptoms and comorbidities. None of the twelve papers support the DSM-5 ASD criteria as defining a unitary biological entity or natural kind. Instead, the twelve papers include proposals to disentangle autism from ASD by adopting a new autism diagnosis, or by reducing the heterogeneity of causes and symptoms linked to autism, or by establishing a new causal model of autism. Taken together, all these papers assert that the heterogeneity of symptoms and causes is a core problem for autism research, and each paper views the current ASD criteria as an impediment to the discovery of meaningful categories of neurodevelopmental disorders.

3 points by AndrewDucker 3y ago

By "biological entity" they mean "Is there a biological thing which definitively makes you autistic by its presence". It very-much looks like autism is in fact a bunch of symptoms in a trenchcoat, with a variety of different causes which all end up being grouped together.

PaulHoule 3y ago

… maybe in 100 years people see schizotypy hiding in plain sight. I’m pretty sure many if not most self-diagnosed “autists” really have that.

bell-cot 3y ago

There's a pretty firm "NO" in the first two paragraphs: > There has been no single cause or pathophysiology found to be unique to all those with autism, but current diagnostic criteria are linked to nearly two hundred genetic and environmental reported causes. The current DSM-5 criteria for an autism spectrum diagnosis (ASD) allow hundreds of varied patterns of persistent deficits in social communication and social interaction, and myriad patterns of restricted and repetitive activities and interests. This wide phenotypical heterogeneity –which appears to have markedly increased in the two last decades–has led many researchers to question the validity of the ASD diagnosis. > The papers in this special section explore varied aspects of the relationship between the many biological causes of autism and the heterogeneity of diagnostic symptoms and comorbidities. None of the twelve papers support the DSM-5 ASD criteria as defining a unitary biological entity or natural kind. Instead, the twelve papers include proposals to disentangle autism from ASD by adopting a new autism diagnosis, or by reducing the heterogeneity of causes and symptoms linked to autism, or by establishing a new causal model of autism. Taken together, all these papers assert that the heterogeneity of symptoms and causes is a core problem for autism research, and each paper views the current ASD criteria as an impediment to the discovery of meaningful categories of neurodevelopmental disorders.