So how is AUTISM SPECTRUM DISORDER defined in the literature? It is regarded as a mental health condition and thus included in the DSM (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual) of which there are two relatively recent editions that people refer to.

The DSM-IV-TR from 1994 described a range of different diagnoses under the umbrella of Pervasive Developmental Disorder (PDD), whereas in the DSM-5 there is only the umbrella term ASD (AUTISM SPECTRUM DISORDER) with three levels of severity in a range from low-functioning to high-functioning ASD as per the common areas of LIFE weakness which have been added to this chart.

But then again, nobody is ever their label and what if we are all the same in that we all have life lessons to YET self-master in the classroom of life we are all a part of?

Diagnosis or not, the number of life lessons is infinite for all of us, no matter our degree of DIFFABILITY (= different ability rather than disability).