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What Autism Is: A Neurodivergent Way of Experiencing the World

Autism is a lifelong neurodevelopmental difference that shapes how a person’s brain develops, processes information, and experiences the world1. It is not a disease, a personality flaw, or a behavioural problem. Autism affects sensory processing, communication, attention, learning, movement, and social interaction across the lifespan.

Autism exists across cultures and communities. Differences in who is diagnosed—and when—reflect systems of bias, not differences in autistic prevalence2.

Autism Is Neurodevelopmental

This framing clarifies that autism is lifelong and biological.

Autism begins during early brain development, before birth, and is strongly influenced by genetic and biological factors1. These factors affect how neurons form connections, how signals are transmitted, and how information is integrated across the brain.

Neuroscience research has identified measurable brain differences in living autistic adults, including reduced synaptic density across multiple brain regions3. Synapses are the connection points between neurons, and differences in synaptic density affect how efficiently neural networks communicate. Importantly, these differences correlate with core autistic traits such as social-communication differences and repetitive behaviours3.

This research provides in-vivo biological evidence that autism is lifelong and neurological, aligning with autistic lived experience rather than behavioural interpretation alone3.

How Autism Affects the Brain

This summary focuses on the main neurological differences researchers have observed.

Autism is associated with:

  • Differences in synaptic density, influencing neural communication (see3)
  • Distinct patterns of brain connectivity, affecting how sensory, emotional, and social information is integrated (see1)
  • Differences in sensory processing and regulation, including hypersensitivity or hyposensitivity (see1)

These differences represent divergent neural organization, not deficit. Strengths and challenges coexist and vary by environment and support.

What Autism Is Not

Clearing misconceptions reduces stigma and misinterpretation.

Autism is not:

  • Caused by parenting or trauma1
  • Something people grow out of1
  • Defined by intelligence1
  • Always visible or externally obvious2

Autistic behaviour reflects autistic neurology. Disability increases when environments are rigid, punitive, or inaccessible.

The Autism Spectrum

The spectrum describes variation, not a simple severity scale.

The autism spectrum does not mean “mild to severe.” Instead, it reflects:

  • Different support needs across domains
  • Uneven skill profiles
  • Fluctuating capacity over time
  • Context-dependent functioning2

Someone may appear highly capable while expending extreme effort through Masking.

Masking and Compensation

Masking explains why autism can be hidden and why support is delayed.

Many autistic people learn to mask—to suppress autistic traits and imitate neurotypical behaviour2.

Masking can include:

  • Forcing eye contact
  • Suppressing stimming
  • Rehearsing conversations
  • Translating direct thoughts into indirect language
  • Hiding sensory distress

While Masking can support short-term survival, long-term Masking is strongly associated with burnout, anxiety, depression, and late diagnosis2.

Autism in Cis Women

Gendered expectations shape how autism is recognized.

Cis autistic women are frequently underdiagnosed due to:

  • Gendered expectations to be agreeable and emotionally attuned
  • Higher rates of internalized distress
  • Diagnostic frameworks based largely on male presentations2

Many cis women receive diagnoses only after chronic burnout, parenting stress, or workplace collapse. Their autism was always present—it was simply unrecognized and unsupported2.

Autism and Late Diagnosis

Late diagnosis often reflects years of masking and misinterpretation.

Late diagnosis is common, not exceptional2.

Late-diagnosed autistic adults often:

  • Internalize struggles as personal failure
  • Overcompensate through overwork
  • Develop Internalized Ableism
  • Reach diagnosis after illness, burnout, or crisis

Late diagnosis does not indicate “less autism.” It often indicates more Masking and fewer supports2.

Autism and LGBTQ+ Communities

Identity exploration and social norm resistance overlap in both communities.

Autistic people are significantly more likely to identify as LGBTQ+ than the general population4. Shared factors include:

  • Questioning rigid social norms
  • Deep introspection around identity
  • Resistance to imposed gender and social roles

LGBTQ+ autistic people often experience layered marginalization—including ableism, homophobia, transphobia, and medical gatekeeping—alongside strong community resilience4.

Autism in Racialized Communities

Structural racism shapes access to diagnosis and support.

Autism is significantly underdiagnosed, misdiagnosed, and misunderstood in racialized communities—particularly among Black children and youth5. These disparities are not caused by differences in autistic prevalence, but by systemic racism embedded in diagnostic, educational, and medical systems.

Diagnostic Inequities Begin Early

Racialized children who meet criteria for autism are diagnosed later, are less likely to receive an autism diagnosis at first clinical contact, and are more likely to receive behavioural or conduct-based diagnoses instead5.

Misdiagnosis as Behavioural “Deviance”

Rather than being recognized as autistic, Black children are disproportionately diagnosed with disorders that frame behaviour as willful misconduct rather than neurodevelopmental difference5.

Dehumanization and Adultification

Black children are more likely to be perceived as older, less innocent, and more responsible for their behaviour, leading to punishment rather than support5.

Lifelong Consequences

These inequities persist into adulthood, contributing to delayed diagnosis, lack of accommodations, increased Masking for safety, and higher mental health burden among racialized autistic adults5.

Autism, Disability, and Society

Disability increases when systems refuse accommodation.

Autism becomes disabling when systems:

  • Require constant Masking
  • Equate worth with productivity
  • Deny or delay accommodations
  • Treat difference as misconduct2

Disability is neurological and structural.

Strengths Without Romanticizing

Strengths can coexist with real support needs.

Autistic neurology may support deep focus, pattern recognition, creative problem-solving, and strong ethics1. These strengths do not erase support needs. Autistic people should not have to be exceptional to deserve dignity.

Key Takeaway

Autism is a lifelong neurodevelopmental difference, grounded in measurable brain variation and shaped by social context. Understanding autism requires centering autistic voices—especially cis women, late-diagnosed adults, LGBTQ+ people, and racialized individuals whose experiences have historically been ignored or punished.

Autistic people do not need to be fixed.
They need to be understood, supported, and believed.

Sources

  1. American Psychiatric Association. (2022). DSM-5-TR: Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (5th ed., text rev.). APA Publishing. ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5 ↩6 ↩7 ↩8

  2. Hull, L., Mandy, W., & Petrides, K. V. (2017). Behavioural and cognitive sex/gender differences in autism spectrum condition and typically developing males and females. Autism, 21(6), 706–727. https://doi.org/10.1177/1362361316669087 ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5 ↩6 ↩7 ↩8 ↩9 ↩10

  3. Finnema, S. J., Nabulsi, N. B., Eid, T., Detyniecki, K., Lin, S.-F., Chen, M.-K., … Carson, R. E. (2021). Reduced synaptic density in autism spectrum disorder revealed by in vivo PET imaging. Molecular Psychiatry, 26, 5737–5748. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41380-021-01124-2 ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4

  4. George, R., & Stokes, M. A. (2018). Sexual orientation in autism spectrum disorder. Autism Research, 11(1), 133–141. https://doi.org/10.1002/aur.1892 ↩ ↩2

  5. Abdulle, S. (2025). An intersection of race and disability: A critical analysis of the racial inequities in autism and neurodivergent disability diagnoses for Black children. Canadian Journal of Autism Equity, 5(1), 22–42. ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5

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