Last year, Health Secretary Kennedy thrust autism into the national spotlight, calling it an epidemic and vowing to investigate what he characterized as its environmental causes. It struck a nerve in ...

Readers weigh in on the challenges of defining and diagnosing the condition. To the Editor: Re “In New Focus on Autism, Some Worry the Spectrum Is Too Broad” (front page, Oct. 5): One thing’s for ...

The autism advocacy community is split over whether adding a profound autism subtype will help the most vulnerable autistic people. Since 2013 autism diagnoses have been classified under one large ...

Families of people with severe autism say the repeated expansion of the diagnosis pushed them to the sidelines. A new focus on the disorder has opened the way for them to argue their cause. Jodie ...

The phrases “autism spectrum” or “on the spectrum” have become part of everyday language. They are often used as different ways of referring to someone who is “neurodivergent”. The term was coined in ...

“On the spectrum.” These three words have become synonymous with autism, yet behind them lies a common misunderstanding. The idea of “the spectrum” suggests that all autistic people share similar ...