Are the Diagnoses on the Autism Spectrum Mental Illnesses?
No, and not every condition listed in the DSM is a mental disorder! The autism spectrum differs from mental illness in that it is believed to be present from birth (or from a very young age) and it doesn’t go away with treatment or spontaneously the way mental illnesses do. While most of the manifestations of the autism spectrum are behavioral there is no specific drug treatment that can make an autistic person less autistic. Mental illnesses are often readily treatable, and mentally ill persons may have long periods of remission and recovery. The autism spectrum is not like this at all.
No, and not every condition listed in the DSM is a mental disorder! The autism spectrum differs from mental illness in that it is believed to be present from birth (or from a very young age) and it doesn’t go away with treatment or spontaneously the way mental illnesses do. While most of the manifestations of the autism spectrum are behavioral there is no specific drug treatment that can make an autistic person less autistic.
