Autism spectrum disorder, syndrome or condition which term to use?
Written on 13th Apr 2016 by Alex Lowery
Written by Alex and Sylvia.
Alex having a climb in Cardiff Castle after attending a meeting at the Senedd to launch a campaign for an Autism Act in Wales.
Do I have Autism Spectrum “Disorder”, or Autism Spectrum “Condition” or is it a Autism Spectrum “Syndrome”? If you want a diagnosis that is accepted by and will get you support you have to accept ASD which means that it is a disorder. But what should autism really be called?
Let us consider what each of these words mean:-
Disorder – Here are some definitions.
‘to disturb the regular or normal arrangement or functioning’
‘a physical or mental condition that is not normal or healthy’
‘a psychological pattern associated with distress or disability that occurs in an individual and is not a part of normal development or culture’
How about the word syndrome.
Syndrome – here are some definitions of syndrome
‘A group of symptoms that collectively indicate or characterise a disease, psychological disorder, or other abnormal condition’
‘ A complex of symptoms indicating the existence of an undesirable condition or quality’
‘a group of symptoms that together are characteristic of a specific disorder, disease, or the like’
it looks like we are back to a disorder again.
Autism comes with abilities and difficulties.
How about the term condition?
Condition – Here are some definitions.
I could only find a relevant reference to a medical condition.
‘any of different types of diseases: to suffer from a heart/skin medical condition’
A lot autistic people argue that autism is not a disorder but rather someone who has a differently wired brain.
Maybe we should call it autism spectrum difference. Let us look at the word difference.
Difference – Here are some definition.
‘the degree to which one person or thing differs from another.’
‘a distinguishing characteristic; distinctive quality, feature, etc.’
‘to perceive the difference in or between; discriminate’
The thing is I don’t want to be defined by my differences either. Imagine ‘Alex is different because he stims, Alex is not like others because he likes order’.
No that doesn’t work for me because I am as different form other autistic people as I am from Neurotypical. I also need a diagnosis to get the support I need. If all I have is a difference why do I need support? Yes I am different not less but I am not different but more. I am just a human and with all the differences what I want is to be accepted as me.
I’ve even heard one bloke say it should be called ‘Autism Spectrum Gift’, because he viewed autism as a gift. While I love to view autism positively, I don’t feel like the negative sides of the condition should be ignored.
I feel that if we tell society that autism is only a difference we may well give the Government a reason to give autistics less support in the future. It’s hard enough for adults on the spectrum to find support as it is. It would be even harder if autism stopped being recognised as a disability. That may be fine if you are autistic and don’t need support but what about the rest of us? Also, what about those autistic people who can’t talk and need help to feed/dress themselves? Is it still a difference and not a disability in that case? The truth is that those who need the most help are often unable to speak out about being autistic. I only speak for myself and how autism affects me personally. Now don’t get me wrong in a manner of speaking it is a difference because our difficulties are often balanced out by strengths, and we do simply have a different way of viewing the world. However, it should still be recognised as a disability so people can get the support they need to function in society.
Anyway, lets get back to the original question shall we? Many people on the spectrum seem to prefer the term the term ASC to ASD, because they feel the term ‘Disorder’ means there’s something wrong with them. However, if you look up the definition of ‘Disorder’, it doesn’t actually mean ‘something is wrong’ per say. One definition of the word is ‘to disturb the regular or normal arrangement or functioning’, and in a manner of speaking… That is kind of how the autistic mind works. While I wouldn’t say there’s something wrong with us, our brains are wired differently, and they work differently from the neurotypical brain. Our skills and difficulties can often be uneven. We can be brilliant in one area, but really struggle in another area. It definitely sounds like our minds have ‘a different order’ from other people to me. Also, if you look up the term “Condition”, you mainly see information relating to heart problems or other serious illnesses. That doesn’t sound like autism to me. If anything, it can make autism sound like some kind of health condition. Also, if you look at the term ‘Syndrome’ the definition seems to have crossovers between the previous two definitions.
Overall, I don’t actually have a problem with the term ‘Disorder’. I remember saying this to someone, and the responding comment was “But disorder means there is something wrong with you”. I wasn’t sure I completely bought this, so I later goggled the term ‘Disorder’ and it doesn’t necessarily mean there’s something wrong with you. Or at least, if you’re going to claim it does mean that; I don’t see why ‘Condition’ should mean that any less than ‘Disorder’. If Condition includes issues like ‘heart problems’, surely a heart condition is something wrong with a person’s heart?
Now, believe it or not… I don’t really mind which term is used. It doesn’t really make a whole lot of difference to me. I do find that I usually use the term ‘Condition’, but mostly because that’s the term people generally seem to prefer, and I’ve heard this ‘Disorder mean’s there’s something wrong with you” phrase so often that I’ve almost started believing it myself. Before reading this, it’s quite likely that I assumed I would say ‘Condition’ is a better term because that’s the most common argument. But in truth, I don’t really have a problem with the term ‘Disorder’.
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