What Is the Autistic Neurotype? Rethinking Autism Beyond the DSM

• By: Bernard Grant Writer
• January 23rd, 2026
• ableism, autism as neurotype, autistic culture, autistiphobia, double empathy problem, medicalization of autism, neurodiversity, neuronormativity, social model of disability
• 1069    1

The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) defines Autistic people through medicalized criteria that judge Autists from the outside; its diagnostic framework is constructed on allistic (nonautistic) observations, largely without Autistic input. As a result, the dominant...