Recent public commentary has questioned whether the autism spectrum has become too broad, or even ‘broken” to remain useful. It is a confronting argument because it touches on diagnosis, identity, research, service access and how we ensure Autistic people with significant support needs are not overlooked.
As autism research, advocacy and public discussion have evolved, Autistic people with intellectual disability, complex communication needs or higher daily support needs are less visible in conversations shaping policy, research and service design.
But the question may be less whether the spectrum is “broken” and more whether our systems have not kept pace with the diversity of Autistic experience.
For this article, we invited reflections from Ainslie Robinson, an Autistic woman and parent of two Autistic children; Dr Chris Edwards, an Autistic researcher; and Dr Vicki Gibbs, Aspect’s Head of Research and parent of an Autistic young person.
The spectrum is broad because Autistic experience is broad
The concept of the autism spectrum reflects the diversity of Autistic experience. Autistic people differ in how they communicate, learn, process sensory information, build relationships or experience support needs. For Ainslie, autism is not an abstract clinical category. It is a way of understanding how she experiences the world.
“Being Autistic explains the way I experience the world, and how it is a little bit different to most other people on a fundamental level,” she says.
For Dr Chris Edwards, diagnosis offered a similar sense of clarity. Diagnosed as an adult, he says it helped explain why he had felt different for much of his life and gave him a way to understand himself with more compassion.
“I didn’t pursue it to access formal supports,” he says, “but to better understand myself and to help others understand me.”
For many Autistic people, diagnosis is not merely a label. It offers a framework for self-understanding, and, for some, a pathway to support.
Support needs must be better understood
But Dr Gibbs also sees validity in some of the concerns.
“Autism now encompasses people with very different communication styles, cognitive profiles and support needs,” she says. “In practice, a diagnosis of autism doesn’t tell you all that much about the kinds of supports a person may need in everyday life.”
Although severity levels were intended to provide more information about support needs, they are often applied inconsistently and do not always reflect how support needs can vary across different environments and over time.
Ainslie sees this clearly in her own family. She and both of her children are Autistic, but their needs are very different. Her daughter is gifted. Her son has a co-occurring intellectual disability. Yet there is also a shared way of experiencing the world. “We all kind of just ‘get’ each other,” Ainslie says.
Her family’s experience highlights how autism can present very differently across people while still involving some shared experiences and ways of relating to the world.
Whose voices are heard?
The wide variation of how autism presents also raises important questions about whose experiences are most visible in autism research, advocacy and public discussion. The growing emphasis on incorporating Autistic perspectives into research and service design has contributed to more respectful and informed approaches. At the same time, Dr Gibbs notes that participation in research, advocacy and public discussion is not equally accessible to all Autistic people.
“We hear much more from Autistic people who are able to communicate verbally, engage in research processes and advocate for themselves,” she says.
Her professional and personal experience as the parent of an Autistic son has reinforced this for her. Her son does not have the highest support needs, but he is not someone who would easily participate in research, advocacy or self-representation.
“That’s made me think more about how we create opportunities for a wider range of Autistic people and families to contribute to research and public discussion,” she says.
Towards a better conversation
Together, their perspectives highlight a more complex picture. Debates about whether the autism spectrum is “too broad” may be less important than whether research, services and systems are equipped to understand and respond to differing support needs and experiences.
Debates about diagnostic labels and categories are likely to continue. But there is broad agreement on the need for clearer and more practical ways of understanding and responding to individual strengths, experiences and support needs. This includes ensuring Autistic people with intellectual disability, complex communication needs or higher support needs are not overlooked in research, advocacy and service design. It also means recognising that many challenges Autistic people face arise from environments and systems that were not designed with Autistic people in mind.
For Aspect, this is why co-design, research and partnership matters. Autistic people, families, researchers and service providers each bring important perspectives. Together, they point us towards a more useful question.
Not: is the autism spectrum broken?
But: whether we are doing enough to understand and respond to the diversity of Autistic experiences and support needs
This article was developed by Aspect Philanthropy in collaboration with Ainslie Robinson, Dr Chris Edwards and Dr Vicki Gibbs, drawing on lived experience, research and family perspectives.
