4 things about autism you may not know...

4 things about autism you may not know...
1. Autism is hereditary - Some studies have estimated that up to 90% of the variance in autistic traits is due to genetic factors. This means that if you have an autistic child, there is a reasonable chance that you and/or your child's other biological parent have autism in your genes.
2. There is no medication for autism - To all the people claiming that "big pharma" is part of the reason autism is diagnosed more now than ever... there is literally no skin in the game for them. An autistic person might end up on anxiety medication due to developing anxiety related to their autistic experiences, but the medication would only address the anxiety, not the underlying autistic experiences that caused it.
3. Autism is not an intellectual disability - Though there is a higher rate of intellectual disability in autistic individuals, there is also a higher rate of autistic individuals with high IQs. In fact, since Asperger’s syndrome was reclassified as a manifestation of autism spectrum disorder in 2013, that entire subset of autism would not have intellectual disabilities... because, by definition, a person who was diagnosed with Asperger’s must not have had a cognitive delay during their first 3 years of life... which usually means that they have at least a “normal” IQ.
4. According to the diagnostic criteria in the DSM as of the 2022 update, there are 3 levels of autism. Level 1 indicates that a person requires support, sometimes referred to as low support needs. Level 2 indicates that a person requires substantial support... and level 3 indicates that a person requires very substantial support. Levels 2 and 3 are sometimes referred to as high support needs. It's important to understand that all of these presentations are currently considered autism by the DSM. So, if you have a high support needs family member and think that I'm making up my autism because I don't look, talk, or act like them... I encourage you to do some research to get a better understanding of level 1 autism... because, I assure you, I AM actually autistic, and I have a 33 page document outlining my diagnosis of autism level 1 in both of the diagnostic categories explaining exactly why.
I hope some of you found this helpful... let me know in the comments.
And follow for more content about autism and brain wiring differences.
Happy Autism Awareness Month ❤️

[@advancedwatcher]

Thank you, Nicole. That's very clear and helpful. I'm a 'Level 1', too. One of the noticeable things about 'Needs Support' is that, generally speaking, we don't get any! Still, we're out there, helping each other where we can. You're making a massive, important contribution with your videos.

[@sensorystoriesbynicole]

Ha so true about not getting support! I find that in most cases, I have to ask for support and HOPE to get it... it's tough!