“It’s time to break up this huge spectrum to make it more intelligible”.
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| Title: | “It’s time to break up this huge spectrum to make it more intelligible”. |
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| Authors: | Frith, Uta (AUTHOR) |
| Source: | New Scientist. 5/16/2026, Vol. 270 Issue 3595, p38-41. 4p. 3 Color Photographs. |
| Subjects: | Autism spectrum disorders, Diagnosis, Sex factors in disease, Scientific method, Psychologists, Theorists, Neurobehavioral disorders |
| Abstract: | The article focuses on Uta Frith’s critical perspective on the evolving understanding and diagnosis of autism. Frith, a pioneering psychologist who developed influential cognitive theories about autism, argues that the broadening of diagnostic criteria since the 1990s has blurred distinctions between profound autism and milder forms, leading to an unhelpful and overly inclusive autism spectrum. She questions whether many recently diagnosed individuals, especially women and girls, represent distinct conditions or personality variations rather than neurodevelopmental autism. Frith advocates for renewed scientific rigor, including clearer subtyping of autism, to better understand its underlying mechanisms and improve research, while acknowledging the complexity of balancing scientific inquiry with the lived experiences and needs of autistic people. [Extracted from the article] |
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| Database: | Engineering Source |
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| Abstract: | The article focuses on Uta Frith’s critical perspective on the evolving understanding and diagnosis of autism. Frith, a pioneering psychologist who developed influential cognitive theories about autism, argues that the broadening of diagnostic criteria since the 1990s has blurred distinctions between profound autism and milder forms, leading to an unhelpful and overly inclusive autism spectrum. She questions whether many recently diagnosed individuals, especially women and girls, represent distinct conditions or personality variations rather than neurodevelopmental autism. Frith advocates for renewed scientific rigor, including clearer subtyping of autism, to better understand its underlying mechanisms and improve research, while acknowledging the complexity of balancing scientific inquiry with the lived experiences and needs of autistic people. [Extracted from the article] |
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| ISSN: | 02624079 |
