So I’m autistic, level 1, and yesterday I posted something about how one of the main signs of autism, which is restricted intense interests, does not apply across the board to all autistic people.

And someone left a comment talking about the diagnostic criteria, and what they said was that a person, in order to get a diagnosis, needs to meet all of the criteria of autism, and that is one of them.

So in this video I want to explain how that isn't exactly true.

In order to do that, first I'll start by explaining how autism is diagnosed, and I'm going to refer to the DSM, which is the diagnostic manual used in the United States, because that's where I live.

So the way autism is diagnosed in the U.S., there are two main categories of autism.

The first category is social communication challenges, and the second category is restrictive repetitive patterns of behavior.

Now within the first category there are three subcategories, all having to do with social communication challenges.

And the second category has four subcategories, all having to do with restrictive repetitive patterns of behavior.

Now here's the thing…

The way the DSM explains how a diagnosis has to be given, a person has to meet all three of the criteria within that first category.

But a person does not have to meet all four of the criteria within the second category. They only have to meet two of the four criteria.

So the four criteria for restrictive repetitive behaviors are...

The first one has to do with repetitive physical movements or verbal stimming. So repeating a word over and over again, as an example.

The second one has to do with restricted or rigid routines.

The third one has to do with restricted intense interests.

And the fourth one has to do with sensory issues. Why it’s part of this category is a topic for another video.

So what I want to clarify in this video is that a person does not have to meet all four of the restrictive repetitive patterns of behavior criteria in order to get an autism diagnosis.

So back to the point I was trying to make yesterday…

No two autistic people are going to look alike.

But this actually has more to do with how autism manifests than it has to do with the criteria. So I'm going to explain a little bit more what I mean by that.

When it comes to the actual manifestation of autism, we're talking about how a person's sensory issues show up…

We're talking about how a person stims…

We're talking about what a person's restricted interests are…

We're talking about what a person is rigid about when it comes to their routines.

All of these things look different in every single autistic person.

So even if one autistic person meets the exact same criteria as another autistic person, it doesn't mean their autism is going to show up exactly the same.

And I think that's a really important thing that we all need to realize.

So anyway, I hope you guys found that helpful. If you have any questions, comment below, and I hope you all have a great Saturday.