Re:I Gave My Child Autism
by ubernostrum on Sunday March 22, 2015 @12:27AM
(#9245586)
Personally, colorblindness is my go-to example here, because it is similarly spectrum-ish (and not in the punny sense).
We use the term "colorblindness" in a monolithic way, yet it refers to any of at least eight different things, each of which is caused by a different genetic mutation and produces a different physiologic result. Even the term "red-green colorblindness" is misleading, because it could refer to at least four different things.
Many people with "colorblindness" can actually live their whole lives without ever realizing it; the most common form (deuteranomaly, which is what most people mean by "red-green colorblindness", despite it actually affecting the yellow-orange-brown area of the visible spectrum) rarely if ever interferes with common day-to-day life for many people who have it (like me). On the other hand, the rarer forms can significantly impair vision to the point that common tasks become difficult or even impossible. Yet most of the time we use the same term, "colorblindness", to refer to all of them.
In much the same way, "autism" refers to a wide range of situations, some of which have significant effects on day-to-day life and some of which have much lesser effects.
We use the term "colorblindness" in a monolithic way, yet it refers to any of at least eight different things, each of which is caused by a different genetic mutation and produces a different physiologic result. Even the term "red-green colorblindness" is misleading, because it could refer to at least four different things.
Many people with "colorblindness" can actually live their whole lives without ever realizing it; the most common form (deuteranomaly, which is what most people mean by "red-green colorblindness", despite it actually affecting the yellow-orange-brown area of the visible spectrum) rarely if ever interferes with common day-to-day life for many people who have it (like me). On the other hand, the rarer forms can significantly impair vision to the point that common tasks become difficult or even impossible. Yet most of the time we use the same term, "colorblindness", to refer to all of them.
In much the same way, "autism" refers to a wide range of situations, some of which have significant effects on day-to-day life and some of which have much lesser effects.