Autism Spectrum: a paradigm shift

Autism is a difference in neurodevelopment that influences how you experience the world and how you interact with others. It is considered a quantitative and gradual difference, a spectrum that, in some cases, will cause a disorder, the so-called Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). The diagnosis of ASD is made by behavior. The estimated prevalence has been increasing over time, but the increase in diagnoses is considered to be due to the broadening of criteria and a better understanding of the process rather than an actual increase in prevalence. Currently, there is a false stereotype that associates autism with intellectual disability, but this is a comorbidity that occurs only in a minority of patients. In many cases, there is a lack of understanding, a lack of empathy from others towards the autistic person, which considerably hinders their social integration and adds to their differences. This has the double effect of, on the one hand, making them try to compensate or camouflage their differences in a more or less conscious way, to avoid marginalization, and on the other hand, they suffer from problems of stress, anxiety and frustration that can sometimes end up producing a low quality of life and even mental disorders. The new ideas in neurodiversity tend to show this new vision, this new paradigm, of autistic people being perceived as different, with capacities and strengths that society should be able to value and take advantage of, thus facilitating their integration and making their social difficulties disappear, as they are often caused more by the incomprehension of the neurotypical society than by their differences in neuronal mechanisms.