this post was submitted on 02 Mar 2025
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I will argue that the mild part of the autism spectrum, what we call functional autism, is not a mental illness, not a disorder.
It's like being left handed, not the most common thing, it can cause troubles in a world made for right handed people, specially if being left handed is not accepted. But by itself is just another way of being just as "healthy" and "normal" as being right handed.
I think this is an open debate. Some folks prefer it being considered an illness because they want diagnosis and treatment. Others, like me, just love to be this way, and there's nothing I think is wrong with me. The only problem is that the world is not accommodated for people like me, just like it wasn't accommodated for left-handed people not so long ago. But as soon as it's 100% accepted as something normal I don't see it causing any trouble, so if there's no harm there's no illness we can talk about.
The spectrum of autism isn't mild to disabling.
It's a spectrum of presenting symptoms. What "functional autism" is, is a constellation of symptoms that means you can just about navigate the world as expected by neurotypical people. "Non-functioning" autism or "profound" autism are where the constellation of symptoms makes you unable to function in the world. This is more often than not inclusive of non-verbal autisms and poor motor control autisms.
"Functional" autism can be disabling for the individual in certain conditions - they may be completely unable to read social cues, or be severely impacted by certain stimulatory environments.