It depends how we define "autism", though.
No-one would doubt that a child who is incontinent, non-verbal and self-harming extensively is not mildly disabled. But is that autism? It's a very sensible question that the experts are asking.
Autism is none of those specific things on the diagnostic list.
So it's maybe severe disability - but it's not in itself autism from that list. It's other things that can occur alongside autism. There may well be autism as well . In the past, any really severe behaviour/learning difficulty/delay was often called autism, yes. And at the time that seemed like the right use of the word.
If we have a friend who is suddenly unable to walk and is now a wheelchair user, do people tell them that their disability is mild because they are nothing like that child who is self-harming, and because they can speak in sentences? If so, how fast can we duck from a handbag round the ear from them? .
Severe autism is severe lack of ability to decode and use social signalling, combined with severe lack of ability to cope with the unexpected, combined (usually) with severe sensory processing difficulties of one kind or another. That's the quick summary of the definition in the new DSM V. Many overcome those odds - but to do so often means being punished endlessly. Services withdrawn, help withdrawn, scorn aplenty if they foul up on communication. The moment toilet training happens and sentences happen, the wheels come off the support for them and their families.
Using lots of language seems like a brilliant thing. But using it without a clue of its impact on others is like saying, "my child can drive a 100mph sportscar". Great - but can they drive it safely? Can they even see where they're going? With autism meaning severe lack of ability to control social language, the net effect is "crash and burn".
Relationships? Crash
Job? Crash. crash crash crash, one after the other.
Schooling? Crash.
Friendships? Crash. Cndless crash.
Hobbies with others? Crash.
One desperate soul-destroying crash after another.
It's great to be able to use the toilet. But using it when stuck in a low-rent single room in a social housing block, tortured by noise and flickering lighting overhead, alone, isolated, with no money, no friends and no social life is not all any parent wishes for their child, I'd say. Yet that's the lot of most of the really allegedly mild cases of autism where people can speak.
It ain't often mild, in other words. It's what causes only 15% of us to be in work. It's why 75% struggle to find a single friend. It's why 80% have big problems with bullying. It's why so many are spending a lifetime on anti anxiety and anti depressant medication, why so many are at risk from running away, why so many end up homeless and destitute. The intense loneliness and desperation and inner pain can look really mild if we measure it on things like toilet training and speaking in sentences, yes. But is it?
All big questions. I don't have all the answers. I do know that I have friends and colleagues from all parts of the spectrum - verbal and non-verbal, severe, moderate and mild, with and without other disabilities - and we all agree that we could do with a world that stops causing us pain. And stops forcing parents and teams to make us sound like soulless monsters in order to get a tiny bit of help...A world that starts listening to parents and children and teachers to find out what makes a difference. I want brilliant help and support for any child who is struggling. And brilliant help and support for every parent, carer and teacher who encounters wonderful young people with so much to offer the world...if only that world will give them a chance.