> defined in such a way that two with the same label can have remarkably little overlap in terms of observed behaviour
I believed this until my daughter was diagnosed and then I was later diagnosed. My experience with (some) professionals was a surprise to me; a much wider variety of "observed behaviors" than I expected seem to stem from sensory issues for example. And I think it makes sense that humans might adopt a wide variety of ways to deal with for a much smaller variety of processing issues.
(Unrelated to the professional experience) Have you looked into monotropism? It's a fairly compact theory that ties a lot of behaviors together that might look like they have no overlap from the outside.
Also:
> It’s a label for those perceived by others in a certain light
I believed this until my daughter was diagnosed and then I was later diagnosed. My experience with (some) professionals was a surprise to me; a much wider variety of "observed behaviors" than I expected seem to stem from sensory issues for example. And I think it makes sense that humans might adopt a wide variety of ways to deal with for a much smaller variety of processing issues.
(Unrelated to the professional experience) Have you looked into monotropism? It's a fairly compact theory that ties a lot of behaviors together that might look like they have no overlap from the outside.
Also:
> It’s a label for those perceived by others in a certain light
Lots of people self-diagnose.