"The DSM defines autism by its observable symptoms: persistent deficits in social communication, restricted & repetitive behaviors. It's a checklist of what a clinician can see in a room, or what a patient can report about themselves. It describes the shadow, not the object."

https://dev.to/raphink/defining-autism-the-shadow-and-the-object-3ca7

#Autism
#ADHD
#AuDHD
#neurodiversity
#neurodivergence

Defining Autism: The Shadow and the Object

The DSM defines autism by observable symptoms. But a definition and a diagnostic test are not the same thing. One bar has been cleared. The other hasn't. And mistaking the proxy for the definition has real consequences.

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