Would A New Diagnosis Of Profound Autism Help Autistic People?

The autism advocacy community is split over whether adding a profound autism subtype will help the most vulnerable autistic people. getty

Since 2013 autism diagnoses have been classified under one large category, leading to greater recognition of the variety of ways autism can present. As services for autistic people with less obvious presentations have expanded, advocates for children and adults who need extraordinary levels of care fear that they’re being forgotten.

Now, the autism community finds itself divided over whether creating a 'profound autism’ subtype would help those with the greatest needs, or leave them even more vulnerable. Many parents say that without such a designation, their loved ones are left out of research, services and even public policy discussions. But auti