As a person who went to a school specializing in treating children and teens with autism and other mood disorders I really have to disagree with this newfound thing with newly diagnosed adults with autism who say that autism isn't a spectrum disorder in the way that you can have a little bit or you could have a lot of autism. They just have not been exposed to people that are just non-functional with autism. It 100% is a linear spectrum it just becomes less linear when you get into the more functional in everyday life part of the spectrum.