Every so often we progress past the need for something but get too stuck in our ways to change it. Take for example that old atlas you keep in your car, the CD collection you can’t bring yourself to throw away or, more importantly, the misconception that autism is a mental health condition. At some point these all served a purpose in life yet, in the present day, they are now outdated and obsolete.
Nevertheless, while something like a compulsory home phone number request on an official form is a slight irritation, autism’s mental health categorisation isn’t so easy to dismiss – due to the danger and damage it can cause. So, what is the difference between autism and a mental health condition, and why is it so important that these misunderstandings go the way of Microsoft’s Clippy?
Is Autism a Mental Health Condition?
In short, no, Autism is not a mental health condition. However, due to a long and confusing history between the two, I wouldn’t blame you for thinking that it was. I mean, for the most up to date definition of our condition, many professionals will use the DSM (or Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders), whilst a closer look into the UK’s Mental Health Act features the spectrum cited alongside actual mental health conditions like:
- Depression
- Anxiety
- Bi-polar
- Schizophrenia
- Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder
These aren’t the only reasons why autism is muddled up with mental health conditions though as, despite the fact that beneath the surface they are all VERY different, many of the traits overlap (similar to how twins look the same, but can also be very different). This isn’t a coincidence though, in fact, the overlap is more often a co-diagnosis, as some 80% of autistic people will have at least one co-occurring mental health condition.
Of course, while this does mean that many autistic people will have mental health conditions, not every person with a mental health condition will have autism. So, how can you tell the difference?
What Are the Differences Between a Mental Health Condition and Autism?
Autism and mental health conditions may at first seem as easy to confuse as Jeff Bridges and Kurt Russel. Yet, when the two are compared side by side, they are apples and oranges in their differences. This isn’t just regarding how they present, but more prominently in their causes, impact and treatments/support. For example:
Causes:
Autism sure is taking its sweet time when it comes to letting us know how it came to be. However, as the years tick by, researchers are becoming more unanimous in the belief that the condition is genetic/hereditary (and may even stem from bacteria in the gut). Furthermore, despite some autistic people being diagnosed late in life, the consensus is that autism is something you are born with and, subsequently, you can’t just develop autism (no matter what the anti-vaxxers tell you).
Mental health conditions, on the other hand, are a lot more varied in their causes; being brought on by a myriad of both environmental and genetic factors, examples of which include: relationships, trauma, substance abuse and, yes, also genes. Despite this, while the ways in which a mental health condition manifests may differ from person to person, by nature they all reside in the mind (a fleeting residency to which they can come or go at any time they choose).
Impact:
While it is true that both the traits of autism and mental health can alter with age and support, one way of seeing the difference between the two is when you consider that most symptoms of a mental health condition will contrast in intensity (depending on time and support), whilst autistic people will almost always bring the same passion to our quirks.
In this regard, a study of a non-autistic person with anxiety might find that they are more or less overwhelmed in differently sized crowds, whilst an autistic person is always likely to get the same level of jitters but may stop experiencing public meltdowns and instead gain post-event burnout.
Treatment/Support:
One of the most obvious and easy ways to tell the difference between autism and a mental health condition is by looking at how the two are (or should be) supported. This is because while, in most cases, both require therapy, for autism this approach is to help manage our challenging traits, whilst therapy for a mental health condition is to help a patient lower its effects and potentially overcome it.
For many (although not everyone), this means it is possible to eventually shake a mental health condition, whilst once you’re in club autism you’re here for good.
Why Is It Important We Know the Difference Between Autism and Mental Health Conditions?
It feels odd that I should have to point out why it’s important that we stop calling autism a mental health condition. After all, wrong is wrong and when you look at just how many differences there are between the two, that’s a whole lot of wrong people are willing to be. However, when you call autism a mental health condition, it’s not just accuracy which is at stake, but also damage that could be done to our community,
This isn’t because it’s bad to be considered as having a mental health condition, it’s just that mental health conditions don’t have much positivity going for them either. This is in stark contrast to autism, where many in our community see our alternatively wired minds as something to be proud of – a view which becomes pretty hard to promote with connotations of the latter.
But the challenges that are caused by these connections aren’t only ones of perception and identity, as a recent enquiry into the legislation like the Mental Health Act of 1983 have found that, by classifying autism as a mental health condition, members of our community are opened up to the possibility of improper sectioning – in which autistic people have ripped away from the familiar and inappropriately accommodated, whilst a solution to a problem that does not exist is sourced.
You can read more about this scandal by following the National Autistic’s Society’s campaign against it. However, know that this a very real problem which, despite having life-ruining consequences, remains thoroughly ignored by those who could make a difference.
That’s not to say that you the reader can’t help resolve this problem, as one of the simplest ways this can be achieved is by encouraging everyone to avoid confusion between autism and mental health. Of course, at first, correcting the language used by others might seem a bit awkward but, given that people will call others out for something as simple as saying ‘the tube’ instead of ‘the train’, then it really doesn’t have to be. All it takes is a quick correction and after reading today’s post, who better to know the differences than you?
Carry on the Conversation:
Have you had any experience with people confusing autism and mental health conditions? Let me know in the comments below and, if you can think of any items you have lying around that are now obsolete, why not confess to these below also?
As always, I can also be found on Twitter @AutismRevised, on Instagram @autisticandunapologetic and via my email: AutisticandUnapologetic@gmail.com.
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Thank you for reading and I will see you next week for more thoughts from across the spectrum.
