Should Autism Be Classified as a Mental Illness/Disability? Evidence from Empirical Work

Is autism a disability? Fundamentally, this question also raises additional questions, including: What is a disability? Who makes the definition valid? What function does such a label serve within society? The answers are perhaps dependent upon varied points of view and affiliations with particular theoretical frameworks. Indeed, there has been inconsistency regarding the terminology that has been utilised, with this terminology continuing to evolve. In the latest incarnation of autism in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5), autism has been defined as Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) (American Psychiatric Association, 2013), while other terms are still used within the International Classification of Diseases (ICD). Controversially, the diagnostic label of ‘Asperger’s Syndrome’ has been removed from DSM-5.