The Debate
Should we retire the word "autism"? Articles and perspectives from researchers, clinicians, and advocates.
Autism Spectrum Heterogeneity: Fact or Artifact?
Pro-ReclassificationMottron & Bherer, 2020 — Molecular Psychiatry. Argues the limitless variety of presentations under one diagnosis poorly serves intervention planning and research.
www.nature.com
Heterogeneity Thwarts Autism Explanatory Power: A Proposal for Endophenotypes
Pro-ReclassificationSiegel, 2022 — Frontiers in Psychiatry. Argues autism is not a unitary biological or clinical entity and proposes endophenotype-based reclassification.
pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
Autism-ness Does Not Exist, but Autism Does: A Critic of the 'Spectrum' Position
Pro-ReclassificationMottron et al., 2025 — Autism & Developmental Language Impairments. Argues the spectrum framework has diluted the diagnosis to near-meaninglessness and advocates for a categorical prototype.
pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
A Radical Change in Our Autism Research Strategy Is Needed: Back to Prototypes
Pro-ReclassificationMottron, 2021 — Autism Research. Calls for abandoning the spectrum approach in research in favor of prototypical autism definitions.
pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
An Overview of Autism Spectrum Disorder, Heterogeneity and Treatment Options
Pro-ReclassificationLai et al., 2014 — Neuroscience Bulletin. Proposes reframing ASDs as 'the autisms' to account for multiple etiologies and distinct clinical entities.
pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
Editorial: Is Autism a Biological Entity?
Pro-Reclassification2023 — Frontiers in Psychiatry. Questions whether autism constitutes a valid biological category given the vast number of risk factors and lack of neurobiological validity.
www.frontiersin.org
From Heterogeneity to Idiosyncrasy in the Autistic Brain
Pro-Reclassification2026 — Nature Mental Health. Argues heterogeneity is so extreme that each autistic brain may be unique, challenging the coherence of a single diagnostic category.
www.nature.com
Editorial Perspective: Neurodiversity — A Revolutionary Concept for Autism and Psychiatry
Pro-Unified LabelBaron-Cohen, 2017 — Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry. Argues autism reflects natural neurological variation, not disorder, and the label enables rights-based advocacy.
pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
Shifting from 'Normal Science' to Neurodiversity in Autism Science
Pro-Unified LabelPellicano & den Houting, 2022 — JCPP. Calls for autism research to center autistic perspectives and the neurodiversity paradigm.
acamh.onlinelibrary.wiley.com
Re-thinking Autism: Diagnosis, Identity and Equality
Pro-Unified LabelRunswick-Cole et al., 2016 — Disability & Society. Examines how the autism label has become central to identity, community, and political mobilization.
www.tandfonline.com
Autistic Identity: A Systematic Review of Quantitative Research
Pro-Unified LabelDavies et al., 2024 — Autism Research. Finds positive autistic identity is associated with better mental health, supporting the value of the diagnostic label.
onlinelibrary.wiley.com
Autistic Self-Advocacy and the Neurodiversity Movement: Implications for Autism Early Intervention Research and Practice
Pro-Unified LabelLeadbitter et al., 2021 — Frontiers in Psychology. Argues the autistic community's self-advocacy depends on a shared identity under the autism label.
www.frontiersin.org
Diagnosis and Diversity: Feminism, Autistic Identity, and the Possibilities for Neurodiversity
Pro-Unified LabelRussell et al., 2025 — Autism in Adulthood. Draws parallels between feminist identity politics and autistic identity — the label is a tool for collective action.
journals.sagepub.com
Autism's Heterogeneity in Historical Perspective: From Challenge to Opportunity
Overview2023 — Frontiers in Psychology. Historical overview of how autism's diversity has been framed as both a scientific challenge and an opportunity for reclassification.
www.frontiersin.org