Should Autism Spectrum Disorder be renamed Synaptic Disorder?

 

The word “Autism” has become romanticized, occasionally glorified, in public discussions of the neurological disorder. It is literally being stripped of its meaning as a diagnostic label of a mental disorder and is being turned into a different way of thinking, a way of life, a culture. Maybe it is time to start thinking about dropping the use of the term autism in the DSM, abandon the Autism Spectrum Disorder concept and replace it with a more informative, less romanticized, less politicized name … Synaptic Disorder.

At its most extreme the glorification of autism spectrum disorders has seen historical talents and geniuses from Mozart to Einstein “diagnosed” long after their deaths as having been “autistics”. One of the silliest of such fantasies is the speculation that Jesus Christ was autistic. At the other end of the stigma spectrum are those aided by the American Psychiatric Association, and its dilution of the concept of autism disorders in the DSM-IV,  who want the world to believe that autism and intellectual disability are unrelated conditions that are “coincidentally” present in 75-80% of those with Autistic Disorder and between 40 and 50% of all persons with autism spectrum disorders.

Insel compares talking about autism as a single disorder to talking about epilepsy or fever or chest pain as a single disorder. Discussions must include understanding details at many levels—genetic, environmental, cellular, behavioral, systems. While researchers may now increasingly refer to autisms (plural) or think of the disorder along a spectrum, these categories may cause more problems in getting to the underlying biology of the disorder. Current research suggests that autism is a developmental brain disorder, specifically a disorder of synapses.” (Bold emphasis added-HLD)