Can you define autism without listing symptoms?

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Just what it says in the title--can you think of a way to define autism without listing symptoms? We're all so different, what is it that connects us?

Autism, to varying degrees, is a detachment from the social world. There is a relatively permanent desire for solitude.

Autism is like being a perpetual foreigner -- towards environment; physically and socially, towards other organisms; either human or beasts, and sometimes, towards self; in mind, body, and heart.
'Acquiring' is a tricky business. Some had to easier, some don't or even can't. Some are desperate, and some could even care less...

I think that Charlotte Bronte's quote about her sister Emily is perfect:

"An interpreter ought always to have stood between her and the world".

I agree about detachment from the social world but I don't think all of us desire solitude. Sure some of us, myself included, have a limited desire for social contact and do desire solitude. I never really wanted much social contact. Not even as a child. I would sit inside during recess and read. I ignored friends when my mom arranged play dates. I never had a drive to socialize with other kids. I've always been content alone (Lone Wolf). My inner world is rich and complex. But I know a few people on the spectrum that very much desire to be social. They are just s**t at it. They overwhelm people. I wonder if the limited desire for social contact is sometimes just the result of all the failed attempts at being social and the mistreatment by NT's? We withdraw.

Anyone ever read The Autistic Brain: Thinking Across The Spectrum, by Temple Grandin? It's fascinating and she does a pretty good job, I think, of describing different things that join us.

One thing she talks about, which is backed consistently in research, is that people with Autism tend to have over developed local synaptic connections, but less developed long range ones. We are wired differently and measurably. Almost to the point they can use it for diagnosis (close, but not yet). The brain tries to adapt to this as it develops with interesting consequences (autistic traits). It's interesting how common certain co-morbids are (the neurological ones) and how many have to do with the same areas of the brain. I have ASD, ADHD, and TS. The ADHD and TS are thought to have to do with Dopamine. There is something fundamental there. Our brains connect us

I relate to the "Intense World" theory, to which she references and seems to subscribe. It's not the first time I've heard of it, but when she talks about it, it makes a lot of sense. She also talks about people with Autism having an "alternate sensory reality". I won't do it justice. It's worth reading.

Interesting. Do you think that Emily Bronte was an ASD person?

Being a stranger everywhere.

the feeling that you are being forced to play a game whose rules you were never taught.

chasing the school bus full of your classmates, that left without you and trying so hard to get it to turn around.

feeling like a stranger in your hometown unable to communicate. picking up on things nobody else seems to notice.

The only one I can think of is we are all socially affected in some way.

Otherwise, there is no one-size-fits-all with things like autism.

Yes. It means withdrawing into self. "behavior showing an abnormal level of absorption with one's own thoughts and disregard for external realities.". but ASD that might be harder. Both asperger's and autism (as we think of it now) are named for this both kanner's and hans asperger's named the disorders they found autism. So Most autistic peopel have these traits so you can define it not just in a elaborate full picture way.

I must say I'm obsessed with Emily, and I have read countless biographies which describe her passion for solitude, her disdain for social discourse, her obsessions (animals, nature, writing), her high tolerance for physical pain and her odd appearance (out of date clothes, unusual -- almost masculine -- mannerisms, etc). She is indeed more unusual than other women of the time including her sisters, who lived in the same remote setting. I don't know about stimming but she did live with strict routine and OCD characteristics. I have always been strongly drawn to Emily's personality and she is the only woman with whom I've ever felt a connection. I usually fear women because I don't "understand" their mentality. In contrast, Emily seems a kindred spirit. I would bet that yes, she was on the spectrum. There are many scholarly articles which agree with this opinion, although none of us would go so far as to assume a diagnosis. Emily is the best. LOL. I'm not too obsessed, am I?

Having a transparent wall between you and the world maybe

A constant negotiation of conflict between the inner and outer world.

Nice! That really resonates with me.

That sounds a little bit Matrixie to me where NT's all take the blue pill and ND's take the red pill. I'm pretty sure if I get given a Dx of ASD it's going to feel like taking the red pill.

That was a bit Matrixie. I suppose because I experience and observe 'a difficulty in finding harmony and balance'.
Perhaps this may be another way of putting it.