Outrageous Psychology

EEverything you think you know about autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is wrong. Especially the first thing – the most fundamental one. And what is that first, fundamental thing? The name, of course. ASD. Autism. Spectrum, Disorder. Do you know what that means? It is highly unlikely that you do, even if you think you do. And I can prove that to you right now with a simple challenge:

Draw the autism spectrum on a piece of paper.

Are you done? Now tell me, what did you draw, exactly?

If you drew a line with being autistic at one end and not being autistic at the other, you have just conflated a spectrum with a continuum.

But what does that mean, actually? What is a spectrum, anyway? And what is the autism spectrum, specifically? This is what I will answer for you in this article so that you can understand ASD. And once you understand what ASD actually is by definition, most of the misconceptions which you hold or have heard about it, will disintegrate from force of simple logic.

A.S.D. What is that?

Autism Spectrum Disorder. Let’s break it down by the words. Autism, or autistic. This is a relatively recent term for someone who, in a sentence, struggles with social communication and has fixed, repetitive interests. Disorder (yes, I’ll get to spectrum third). This is a medical term implying that autism is an aberration: an atypical thing which ought to be corrected. In the case of autism, the disorder is ‘neurodevelopmental’. We will come back to the issue of “disorder” later. And spectrum? Words do little justice so it’s probably best if I show you.

Drawing the Autism Spectrum

Let’s go back to the pen and paper to draw the autism spectrum.

Before we begin, note that I have divided autism this way for the sake of beginner simplicity. This is not an official or definitive spectrum of autism.

To do this, you will actually need four additional items: a compass, a ruler, a protractor and three coloured pencils: red, yellow and green. Then follow these instructions exactly:

1. Put a visible dot in the centre of a fresh piece of A4 paper.
2. Use the compass to draw a neat circle around the dot, allowing at least 3.5 inches radius.
3. Draw a line from the centre to each of the four directions, so as to form a cross within a circle.
4. Using the lines of the cross as a guide, mark out 10 sections of 36 mathematical degrees each. Draw lines connecting these sections so that the circle looks like a colour wheel. Then mark the sections into two distinct halves of 180 degrees. Where you do this does not matter.
5. In one half of the spectrum, label each of the five following descriptions: sensory sensitivities (food, light, sound), repetitive movements, intense interests (special interests), executive function (planning, organizing), desire for fixed routines. In the remaining five sections, apply these labels: social mannerisms (eye contact, body language); social reciprocity, communication style, emotional awareness and regulation, literalistic thinking.
6. Now, take your coloured pencils and make each section have one colour. Which section has which colour is up to you. But do use all three colours across the 10 sections. There is only one rule: the colours red and orange must be used across both halves of the circle.

Now, let’s consider what this tells us about autism.

The Autism Spectrum Explained: Observing The Diagram

ONE: Every autistic person is different

Let us begin by observing the peculiarity of instruction six: that you were given the choice to colour in the spectrum how you wish. What you coloured in could look very different to what another person coloured in. If we were in a group or classroom setting and I had twenty people follow that instruction, how few might have ended up with identical diagrams?

This leads us to our first idea of what the autism spectrum is: unique to each individual. You may hear of this as the phrase “when you have met one autistic person, you have met one autistic person”. Therefore, not all autistic people are geniuses or savants, not all struggle with eye contact and not all are represented on places like YouTube, where you see several popular channels ran by those who appear to live relatively normal lives – especially by the fact that they can hook attention on social media with their verbal fluency. If they have videos with hundreds of thousands of views and in which they are well presented, you can ‘colour them green’ on some divisions of the spectrum. Right? We’ll get back to that.

TWO: No, We’re Not All “A Little Autistic”

If we were, autism would be a continuum. But as was mentioned at the start of the article, a spectrum is not a continuum.

What is a continuum? A continuum is a sequence where elements blend gradually along a single dimension or scale with no discrete breaks.

A spectrum, on the other hand, is a range of variations across multiple independent dimensions or traits. But in simple language, it is a constellation of factors: think of the stars in the nighttime sky.

THREE: Autism Is Not Always A “Disability And A Difference”

Suppose we were to colour almost all of these sections in orange and red, as to represent moderate and extreme disability in each of the areas. This would be autism and it would be very severe compared to a green and orange set of colours.

Yet, despite the facts that autistic people are normally directly communicative and that many autistic advocates are themselves autistic, this is little acknowledged in mainstream discourse. So-called experts with agendas like to push the political idea that autism is “a disability and a difference”. But we immediately see from the colour scenario described that, sometimes, autism is just a disability.

This has implications for things like whether we should find a cure for autism. Neurodiversity advocates will insist that a cure should not be looked for. But this leaves those “in the red” to live horrific lives for the sake of so-called political progress.

FOUR: Good Eye Contact Does Not (Well, Should Not) Exclude Autism Diagnosis

I went to the job centre one day and was met with a coach who I had not seen for some years. A lot can change over time. One of those things was the awareness that I had gained of my being autistic. But when I told him, the response from him was a common dismissal based on a misconception “you have good eye contact though”. Before my sensibilities could hold back my tongue, I countered with a fact: “I am consciously adjusting it to look normal: I’ve been told that I can stare (when consciously trying to do the eye contact)”.

Here we see the difference between the outer presentation of autism and it’s internal experience. The diagram which we have drawn is in fact divided into internal and external factors in some sense. One does not remark for example that “your executive function is off today” but they might notice that your expression conveys little to no emotion and then act on this observation by asking if you are okay. They would not generally know that it is your flat affect.

FIVE: Autism Doesn’t Come Alone (Life Outcomes & Comorbidities)

Chronic loneliness is like smoking a lot of cigarettes in terms of how it kills you slowly. And autistic men in particular are a very lonely lot. You’ve heard of incels – men who cannot find romantic relationships so go on forums to vent about it with offensive humour and “black pill” philosophy. Well they are disproportionately autistic according to studies, more than 10x that of the general population. This to say, the dating & relationships statistics for autism are abysmal.

This isn’t the only issue though. When you have a combination of traits so as to be considered autistic, you will massively struggle to get a job, by which I mean any job. In the UK, an autist with a job becomes part of the 15% club. No, it’s not a 14% less chauvinistic biker gang! It’s the number of UK autistic adults in any form of full-time employment. Most of that is under-employment. And most of that is patchy: autistic people usually end up switching jobs frequently due to burnout, workplace bullying or getting fired. In fact, autism is considered a disability under UK law, but you have more chance of getting a job unable to *insert disability here* than you do if you have social difficulties and fixed interests. It is the worst performing group within disabilities for employment outcomes.

And life expectancy? Much lower for autistic people than the general population. And homelessness? You shudder to read the statistics on that one.

These life outcomes contribute to, though they are not the only reason why autists have, comorbidities. This is a term for things that go along with autism. It doesn’t marry alone, you see. It comes as a package deal. These include anxiety, depression, eating disorders, celiac disease, alexithymia (difficulty identifying one’s emotions) and several more.

Autism advocates, those intellectually honest and non-partisan arbiters of autism awareness – sorry, I mean advocacy – will tell you that autism isn’t so bad. But stats do not lie, only people do…

For just one example, Autistic men feature disproportionately in incel communities. Studies show formal ASD diagnoses among incels at 18-30%, versus 1-2% in the general population. Self-reported traits hit 25-74%. This stems from social struggles amplifying romantic rejection, fueling forums with blackpill despair.

So when you put the unemployment and relationship difficulties together, you get the fact that male autists are basically the “losers” within society.

Now, Back To “Disorder”

In mainstream academic terms, “disorder” in Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) refers to a biomedical classification. Clinicians and researchers define it as a neurodevelopmental condition marked by persistent differences in social communication, restricted interests, and repetitive behaviours that cause significant impairment in daily functioning. The DSM-5 and ICD-11 frame ASD this way. They view it as an innate brain variation. This biomedical model assumes these traits deviate from a typical norm. Medical intervention often follows to manage symptoms.

This framing sparks dispute. Critics favour the social model of disability. They argue society disables autistic people through barriers like inflexible workplaces or sensory-unfriendly environments. Traits become problems only when the world demands neurotypical conformity. Masking, for instance, drains autistic energy to fit in. Advocates claim the biomedical label pathologises natural human diversity. They prefer “autism spectrum” without “disorder” to affirm neurodiversity.

Both models offer insights. The biomedical approach prioritises support for severe cases, like nonverbal individuals needing lifelong care. The social model pushes systemic change, such as inclusive education.

Final Thoughts & Further Reading

Understanding the autism spectrum demolishes common myths and exposes their offensiveness. ASD spans multiple independent traits. These traits include sensory sensitivities, repetitive behaviours, social communication, emotional regulation, and more. Every autistic person forms a unique profile. This profile is not a straight line from normal to severe. The multi-dimensional reality proves false the myth that everyone is a little autistic. Autism represents distinct neurodivergence. It is not a continuum.

The idea that autism makes someone a savant also fails. Intellectual ability among autistic people varies widely. Claims that good eye contact disproves autism ignore masking. Autistic individuals often hide internal turmoil behind forced normality. Focusing solely on autism as a difference offends those for whom it creates severe disability. The autistic population faces poor employment. Only 16% hold full-time jobs in the UK. Loneliness, comorbidities like anxiety, and reduced life expectancy follow. Lazy stereotypes erase lived realities and block support. Grasp the spectrum. The nonsense unravels.

References

National Autistic Society (2021) New shocking data highlights the autism employment gap. Available at: https://www.autism.org.uk/what-we-do/news/new-data-on-the-autism-employment-gap (Accessed: 13 March 2026).

BACP (2023) Autism at work. Available at: https://www.bacp.co.uk/bacp-journals/bacp-workplace/2023/october/autism-at-work/ (Accessed: 13 March 2026).

Department for Work and Pensions (2024) The Buckland Review of Autism Employment: report and recommendations. Available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/the-buckland-review-of-autism-employment-report-and-recommendations/the-buckland-review-of-autism-employment-report-and-recommendations (Accessed: 13 March 2026).

Department for Work and Pensions (2024) The Buckland Review on autism employment [PDF]. Available at: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/65ddc8b0b8da630011c86288/the-buckland-review-on-autism-employment.pdf (Accessed: 13 March 2026).

National Autistic Society (2024) The Buckland Review of Autism Employment is published. Available at: https://www.autism.org.uk/what-we-do/news/the-buckland-review-of-autism-employment-is-publis (Accessed: 13 March 2026).

Office for National Statistics (2024) Disability pay gaps in the UK: 2014 to 2023. Available at: https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/healthandsocialcare/disability/articles/disabilitypaygapsintheuk/2014to2023 (Accessed: 13 March 2026).

National Autistic Society (2025) About autism. Available at: https://www.nationalautisticstrategy.org.uk/about-autism (Accessed: 13 March 2026).

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2024) Autism data and statistics. Available at: https://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/autism/data.html (Accessed: 13 March 2026).

National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (2021) Autism spectrum disorder in under 19s: recognition, referral and diagnosis (CG128). Available at: https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/cg128/chapter/Recommendations (Accessed: 13 March 2026).

Lord, C. et al. (2020) ‘Autism spectrum disorder’, Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 50(3), pp. 695–711. Available at: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10803-020-04417-2 (Accessed: 13 March 2026).

Speckhard, A. and Ellenberg, M. (2022) ‘Findings from the Global Incel Community: An Exploratory Analysis of Ideology, Harm, and Mental Health Factors Driving Radicalization’, Religions, 15(1), p. 47. Available at: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10732311/ (Accessed: 13 March 2026).