It’s a neurological, not neurodevelopmental.
The difference, to clarify is that autism is not a lack of, or damaged development; but literally a brain wired differently than the stereotypical norm.
We’re not damaged, just different. Our brains process information in a different way, and are overwhelmed by things a NT brain would be fine with.
In contrast I’ve seen my NT friends flip over stuff that I don’t bat an eyelash at, so there could possibly be something there - or I could just be odd.
Updated opinion.
Three years on, and I’d honestly say I now think it’s both. There’s definitely some cases that are just neurological, and others that have developmental issues; so I’d wager there are cases that have both.
Edit:
Source:
Is autism a neurodevelopmental disorder?
OK. First off, you are using Quora for a source, which IS NOT a source of reliable information. These were expressed opinions and thoughts. This is NOT scientific data.
Secondly, you did say,
"a brain wired differently than the stereotypical norm". Correct. By definition, this makes it a neurodevelopmental condition. The brain (neuro) developed differently (developmental). We have hundreds of scientific studies to demonstrate this, actual imaging comparing autistic brains vs neurotypical brains. The areas of our brains MOST affected are areas that develop in the 1st trimester of pregancy, and then into the cortex which develops during the 3rd trimester and into childhood. No argument. We have over 200 genetic autism markers, some 1000 epigenetic autism markers, and some 1500 RNA autism markers identified to date.
Thirdly, you said, "we're not damaged, just different". This statement could be (1) correct, (2) partially correct, or (3) wrong depending upon the circumstances triggering brain development. (1) If the autism is primarily due to familial genetics, then the brain developed the way the genetics dictated it to be. (2) If the autism is primarily due to epigenetic factors such as triggered by maternal hormonal conditions, exposures to environmental toxins, maternal infections, etc. then the brain will develop differently. (3) If the autism was due to damage or insults to normal development, and this is also epigenetic, such as being born extremely premature (22-26 weeks gestation) and prolonged neonatal intensive care environmental exposure, alterations in placental blood flow, intrauterine intracranial hemorrhages, etc can alter brain development.
Now to be further clear on this, many variants of autism are also associated with poor fine motor skills (fingers, hands, and wrists, as well as, feet and ankles) and then there are the immune function alterations such as enhanced release of inflammatory cytokines when exposed to injuries and infections leading to an abnormal amount of inflammation. Not to mention that many of us, if tested, would have elevated inflammatory markers such as homocysteine, as a baseline, effecting blood pressure, kidney function, inflammatory bowel, arthritis, and the like as we age.
Autism is, for some, a MEDICAL condition. The functional anatomy of the brain, which we already established as "different" in many ways, will often dictate the function, and primary or base behaviors of the individual. Over time, these base behaviors, when interacting with our environment, can then lead to tertiary psychiatric conditions.
I appreciate what you were trying to do here, but we get "gaslit" enough by the people around us that there isn't an underlying cause for our condition, that it is
just a difference. Yes, there should be acceptance. Yes, there should be some internal peace. However, let's have a bit more accuracy with our language even amongst ourselves here because neurotypicals know almost nothing of what we are going through and are quick to push our condition off as something that is a "moral shortcoming", an "excuse", or just a "label".
