Do you agree, disagree or quite simply… not care at all? All valid, please share thoughts

Well said Connor! This video is so on the money! I have cerebral palsy diagnosed as a baby, have had depression and anxiety diagnoses for years now and then I also got diagnosed with Autism nearly 4 years ago now in my late 30s. Today is literally my 40th birthday. I've researched the social sciences and neuroscience and neurology non-stop since then. There are so many variables that make each autistic person unique and have variable symptoms and manifestations of their autism. This can also include economic, social class and environmental factors too. Nurture in general. The same autistic baby, genetically and neurologically, can develop entirely different symptoms and traits in adulthood, dependent upon socio-economic factors, opportunities (or lack of) and life events as well as general environmental factors. The list of variables that can affect how autism manifests itself in terms of nurture alone is probably infinite or near infinite. This is precisely why labels like "high functioning" and a linear model are really not helpful to autistic people like us on either an individual or collective basis. I think your KZfaq Vlogs and thoughts are brilliant, profound, inspiring and incredibly helpful; so please keep up the great work mate! Thank you!

I find it really annoying that my medical records say I have ASD and that's it. That is not enough. It tells them nothing more about my personal situation. I personally think that the medical record should be an Autism Profile. Something that defines my own personal autistic issues. Maybe, rather than call it ASD they can call it an Autism Profile. That would mean the medical records will be somewhat more specific and more relevant to the individual.

I’ve been describing it as a mixing board. Some settings (traits) are higher or lower than others. It seems to help people understand more than just one linear spectrum.

Happy (belated) KZfaq anniversary! I... think this is actually the first video I've seen on your channel, but it's real good. :o All very well put; clear, accurate, and succinct. This seems like it would be very helpful for teaching non-autistic folks where the autistic community stands right now. (Or at least the part of the community that I'm familiar with. Obviously, no group of people is a monolith!)

Great Video Man, I really like this video I hate the measuring system of Autism and it needs to change so much "Highly Functioning to Low Functioning" like you said. I think you can still support the individual without having that measuring system.

I love the idea of a rainbow and a spectrum. I think it works really well . People who have Autism are all in the rainbow but not in the same place or are the same colour . But I don't think functioning labels work. We need something similar to functioning labels but I don't know what.

I always felt like spectrum was a kinda awkward description, because a spectrum is in most cases one parameter gradually switching between two extremes. For instance, when it comes to sexual orientation, every parameter is considered as a different spectrum (asexuality to hypersexuality, heterosexuality to pansexuality or homosexuality depending on the context, aromantic to hyper romantic, etc.). Autism makes me think of a modular synth: you don't call it a fader board just because it has faders on it, the sound of the synth and how it functions entirely depends on which modules are on the board and how are they linked and how are they interacting together to create your sound. Sure amplifying one effect or module over another will make a difference, but that's a minor part of how to understand modular synthesis which is why it is called "modular" is instead of a fader board. That being said I have no idea what a good equivalent term would be when it comes to neuropsychological terms.

I would like something on medical record to show more than just ASD and other conditions i have. I mask allot, and have problems displaying emotions. So i can be having a meltdown and look like im happy or quiet while tearing up inside its crippling and i have no way to express myself when those meltdowns happen. I also have Sensory processing disorder (but not on record its not officially recognised but its on my diagnosis papers and is a very real thing). There are multiple other issues i have, but my medical record literally just says ASD and my other issues. Not very helpful at all. I do get why they did what they did, it was mainly down to getting support. When ASD was separated into low/high functioning support started to only be given to the lower functioning even though the high functioning people clearly have problems they need help with. This was because no one was trained or had any idea really. People like myself who do need support but are "higher functioning", appear fine to someone without training/experience so we would get no help. Those lower functioning were obvious to spot and helped. Combining them into the spectrum allowed everyone to get support and not just glossed over. I would like "traits" to be written on medical records. Passive avoidance, sensory issues, behavioural issues such as tactile defensiveness etc etc. These are things that should come up on the medical record. It should literally come up "Autism" and under it bullet pointed traits with short explanation for each of that those traits could mean.

tbh "the autism spectrum" doesn't mean anything to me like... it feels meaningless because you can't really define someone needs or level of their being because it's obvious and not obvious what they're needs are and even then not every autistic person needs many levels of support because of personal preferences in how they want to be supported, like growing up I feel like I had no say in how I was supported and since being in sixth form i've been able to work a lot clearer cause i dont have some NT's input because "they know best" maybe im just salty...idk kinda scared this'll just blazed but o well

The problem isn't with the terminology, but what that terminology represents. People have used it as an excuse to not dig deeper, when perhaps they should.

I feel like the spectrum categorization doesn’t help anyone. The old categories didn’t work either, we need a new set of categories. Categories that work genetically, neurologically/psychologically, socially and (sometimes) medically. Realize that your categories will never be 100% perfect, no matter how you do things. There will always be people included who shouldn’t and people excluded who should. I do believe it’s half medical. You forgot about the problems that autistics commonly have, and common morbidities. Epilepsy is a very big problem, for example. You need to treat such things in order to improve life quality.