I know the common phrase is that “we are all on the spectrum,” which I guess is true to a certain extent. However, I think the whole idea of having a spectrum is mainly to express to people that you can’t categorize neurodiversity. By this, I mean someone can be autistic and be on one end of the so-called “spectrum,” and another individual could also have autism but less obviously. This is where the common spectrum, in my opinion, is very wrong. What do we label the ends of the spectrum? “More severe and less severe”? “More obvious and less obvious”? Anyone who knows anyone with additional needs will understand that it is completely ridiculous to look at things such as autism in such a black and white manner. The autistic spectrum shouldn’t just be a straight line with individuals sitting somewhere along it. Instead, it should be a circle. I know that might sound a bit odd; however, then you could have different personality traits on it (a bit like a pie chart) with individuals sitting closer to some than others. This, in my opinion, would be a much clearer and also fairer representation.

If the spectrum were like a circle, then yes, I think we could say that everyone does have traits of it, to a varying degree, there is obviously a difference between being Neurodivergent and feeling though one has traits similar. However, some people may be nearer to the middle, indicating that it’s more intense. For example, social anxiety is a very autistic trait. Therefore, someone who has been diagnosed with autism could sit closer to the middle because their anxiety might be more severe. Nevertheless, everyone experiences social anxiety at some points in their life. So, a neurotypical person could find themselves sitting in this category, but more on the outer edges.

Therefore, maybe this spectrum shouldn’t be labeled as the autistic spectrum if “everyone sits on it somewhere”, maybe it should be the personality spectrum? That is all just an opinion, of course, but it would be really interesting to find out other people’s views on this.