Why is Autism Considered a Spectrum Disorder?

I guess I should start off by saying if you're here for a super scientific explanation then sadly you're in the wrong place. If you know anything about my blogging style- you'll know that my point of view is based solely off of what I know from my Bachelors in psychology and even more significantly, my life with Avery.

Turns out having a shiny degree in all things psych got me great book knowledge on developmental disorders, brain functions, and so on and so forth- but didn't totally prepare me for being a parent of a child with special needs. Though it is a nice tool to have in my back pocket, for now I've gotta go from my autism street-skills.

Okay, so lets get to the definition of "spectrum." When you type the word into google- you'll get this:

1. a band of colors, as seen in a rainbow, produced by separation of the components of light by their different degrees of refraction according to wavelength.

2. used to classify something, or suggest that it can be classified, in terms of its position on a scale between two extreme or opposite points.

Number one is beautiful and all- but obviously we are here for definition number two. Now here is my disclaimer before I put a foot in my mouth: Im learning that the autism community is not for the faint of heart. Even with my previous post about "Choosing Autism," I offended someone so much so that my Reddit account was permanently banned.... but don't worry, not before the user left me some nasty-gram about me exploiting my child and comparing me to a certain blogger who adopted a special needs child specifically for her social self-promotion. I can pretty much promise you that I am not nearly calculated enough for any of that. Even now I don't know if ill post this blog, written on my barely working and archaic laptop, while Oliver is driving me crazy. But navigating the Autism world is not why we are here- that's for a different post.

So spectrum- here's what I've picked up using my Autism street-skills since loving on Avery. I still do not have a complete understanding of what end of the spectrum Avery is on, I mean, I guess that's the point, right? She can be anywhere on the "scale" and can also be expected to move positions at any given time? Let me use an example:

At sixteen months old Avery was placed with us with no words, limited motor skills, and not even enough muscle tone to sit up without intervention or chew up her food. In my eyes, that's pretty "low"on the spectrum, when compared to that of a "neurotypical" sixteen month old. One thing that I was extremely thankful for when looking back on the days when Avery was in foster care is that DHS, as frustrating as they can be, helped us with her diagnosis. Ive learned over the years that is it NOT an easy task- but DHS helped to get it done for us really quickly. So in a whirlwind of check ups, and specialists, and tests, we had doctor after doctor telling us differing opinions on where Avery would end up settling on the spectrum. Some told us she may never talk and to set our bars low, while others told us that with intense interventions she could make a full "recovery." Ooof, I'm going to offend people with using the term "recovery," so let me define it in relation to where we were at back in the day.

When we first met Avery we did not know the significance of her setbacks, in fact, she was placed in our care because of a physical medical issue- nothing in her file about any kind of mental delays. So yes, we set out for a full "recovery," not knowing that a physical "recovery" was not the only hurdle we faced. If it isn't clear, Avery does not have anything to "recover" from, except for maybe some trust issues from her evil little brother. So can I stop putting the "R" word in quotations now?

I honestly couldn't tell you where on the spectrum she is right now. If I used my book-smarts and told you to look up the DSM-5 diagnostic criteria for Autism you would be overwhelmed. And actually, if you ask me, the whole millennial generation probably associates in some way with good ol' section A, which goes over the social communication and interactions of those with Autism. Thank goodness I don't have the clinical license to give a diagnosis.

Even now, Avery is on the lookout for a specific toy that Oliver assigned her to find. That little task has so many little parts involved that we never thought she'd be able to do! She's focusing on a task for more than ten seconds, she had to understand what her brother was asking of her, and the follow through is amazing on its own. On mom and dad's spectrum, she's doing INCREDIBLE things.

So I guess each kid has their own scale- they each have a starting point and an ending point. I would almost compare it to the "ages and stages" pamphlets that parents of young kids get at every well-child check up. "Here are the things they should be able to do at each age. If there are any delays, give us a call to follow up." You know, those pamphlets that panic new moms when their baby isn't walking at ten months old like their friend's baby is.

Why is Autism considered a spectrum disorder? Because their little brains do amazing things. Avery woke up this morning telling me with her eyes that she didn't want to be friends today. But hey, its two o'clock now and she's licking my hair- how's that for shooting up a few levels on the spectrum? I don't think Avery will be a brain surgeon or anything (we like to set the bar low in this family, so we can celebrate even more often when she does amazing things,) but that's why we use a spectrum- there's no cap on a spectrum, who knows how far it goes?

So yeah, its nice to be able to often times identify a person with Autism so I can learn how to interact with them in a way to make them feel comfortable- but those street-smarts are important too. How else would I know that when Avery is feeling overwhelmed she just wants to hide out in a dark bathroom, or that she needs two small straws to every big straw to make her brain feel better, or that if she loses her pickle "Shopkin" she might actually keel over? Only experience teaches you those valuable lessons.