The idea of the “autism spectrum” is widely used in diagnosis, education and public discussion. First developed by the psychiatrist Lorna Wing in the 1980s, the term was intended to reflect the wide range of autistic experiences and needs.

But a growing body of research is questioning whether the concept still helps us understand autistic lives.

We are autistic researchers of communication, education and neurodiversity. Our research focuses on paying attention to how people express knowledge and experience when communication does not fit mainstream expectations, particularly when it goes beyond spoken language.

Across this work, one finding is consistent: both autistic and non-autistic people communicate meaningfully in various ways. But this variety is often overlooked or misunderstood by traditional models of autism.

These models tend to come from cognitive science and clinical practice, where autism is defined primarily as a communication “disorder”. They suggest that autistic people have difficulty speaking, maintaining eye contact, or engaging in back-and-forth conversation.

Diagnosis is typically based on external observation by doctors, rather than on autistic people’s own accounts of their experience.

When different perspectives are dismissed

Critics argue that this approach reflects what is known as “neuronormativity”. This is the belief that there is a standard or “normal” way to communicate, think and behave. It is rooted in an assumption that language, especially speech, is what makes us fully human. Therefore, when........

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