Autism should not be considered a "spectrum", according to one of the architects of the theory.

Dame Uta Frith, a pioneer of research that underpins our understanding of autism, said the spectrum was now so "accommodating" it was "completely meaningless".

The 84-year-old said while the factual definition of autism remained, the interpretation of the condition had changed over time, becoming "more inclusive".

"The basic definition of autism that I've given you – that it's lifelong and neurodevelopmental, and that there are communication difficulties and restricted behaviour – has remained the same," Dame Uta told the Tes magazine.

"It is generally accepted. But the interpretation of that definition is a different matter, because we have made it more inclusive."

Dame Uta, an emeritus professor in cognitive development at the Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience at University College London, said the "spectrum" concept came about because "nothing is a neat category, and we wanted to include the not-so-typical cases", and so widened the criteria.

"But that's very difficult, because what's notable about being part of a huge spectrum that we all belong to? We're all neurodiverse; we can accept this because all our brains are different. But it makes a medical diagnosis completely meaningless," she said.

Dame Uta said they had adopted a spectrum approach because the "categorical approach" had meant lots of people did not fit within the precise definition. She warned, however, that "because of various cultural factors, the spectrum has gone on being more and more accommodating, and I think now it has come to its collapse".

"This is something that I don't think has been quite recognised, because people still hang on to the idea that there is something that unites all the people who are diagnosed as autistic. I don't believe that any more," she said.

Dame Uta added that it seemed now that there were "two big subgroups" which included those diagnosed early in childhood, typically under five, and those diagnosed later in life, who she suggested could be called "hypersensitive".

The latter, she said, was "made up of a lot of adolescents, and among them, a lot of young women" who are "without intellectual impairment, who are perfectly able to communicate verbally and non-verbally, but who might feel highly anxious in social situations".

This group of primarily young women and teenagers, Dame Uta said, was growing at a "frightening rate", but that the first group was "only moderately increasing".

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"In autistic children with intellectual disability, there has not been any real increase; that group seems quite stable," she said.

"I think the people in the second group really do have problems. I would definitely not say they are 'making it up'. But I would say that these are problems that can perhaps be treated much better than under the label of 'autism'. I would fight for that label to be limited to the first group," she added.

'More attention needed on telltale signs of autism'

Dame Uta also said the condition "existed from birth" and would still call it a "disorder" despite some objecting to this.

The professor said many people were "self-diagnosing" and putting pressure on doctors to diagnose them, while also criticising the current testing methods, which rely on a patient's "subjective experience, rather than on objective clinical observation".

Not enough attention, Dame Uta said, was being paid to the telltale signs of autism, such as conversation feeling stilted or abrupt, or whether the person can "read between the lines in a conversation" and get irony and humour.

The German-British developmental psychologist also criticised the misconception that people can "mask" their symptoms, which she had "no scientific basis" despite people, including researchers and clinicians, becoming "enamoured with this idea".

"I expect we could say we are all masking, all the time, trying to adapt to our society's norms. So, from this point of view, I'm very critical of this idea," she said, adding that she rejected the notion that girls and women were being underdiagnosed.

Dame Uta, whose research transformed our understanding of dyslexia as well as autism, said she had been "quite swept up by the autism-spectrum idea" but that it was "only in the past 10 years or so that I have felt things have gone too far, and very slowly I have come to say, 'no, this is not right'."

Wes Streeting, the Health Secretary, announced a review in December into the rising demand for mental health, ADHD and autism services.

He previously said people were being "over-diagnosed" and "written off", but later stated this had "failed to capture the complexity of this problem".

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In the Fall of 2022, I stood barefoot on my deck, phone in my ear, brown leaves gathered around my feet, listening to my daughter's fifth grade teacher, Mrs. Barlow. 

"I think there's something going on with Ella," she said gently. 

Also Read: My Son Asked Me How 2 Men Have ***. My Reaction Surprised Me.

My stomach dropped, as I'd had my own suspicions for years. I'd often seen her staring blankly at the lengthy math equations, unsure of what to do. She frequently doodled in the column of her spiral notebook and complained that she didn't know how to do her assignments. 

I flashed back to the draining late nights we'd spent sitting at the dining table, sorting through her homework assignments, which became a long list of unchecked boxes on her iPad to-do list. Her grades had been rapidly declining, going from B's to C's and D's. No one knew how to fix or how to help her. Whatever "it" was, I'd felt helpless for so long, wanting to repair the invisible problem she'd been battling in silence behind swollen, tired eyes.

"She's been distracted in class. I'm not a doctor, but you may want to consider having her evaluated." 

Until that moment, for the last six years, I'd felt as though it would always be this way. That my daughter would never be like me and enjoy going to school, or writing, or doing math, and that she'd always have a hard time keeping up. It had become our dark reality. I was desperate for change, for her to not feel so lost and worn down. It had taken a toll on me, too.

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This conversation was an unexpected gift from a caring and observant teacher. She was able to recognize behaviors that she also saw in students who'd been diagnosed with Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder (ADHD). It had occurred to me that Ella might have an issue, but I didn't even consider it could be ADHD. 

Before Mrs. Barlow, Ella's other teachers had reassured me she was "fine," that she needed to practice the lessons more often, that it was "nothing." What I didn't know then was that most girls with ADD present without the hyperactivity part. Their inattentive behaviors and challenges often go unnoticed because they don't resemble those of the stereotypical hyperactive ADHD boy. This makes them more difficult to diagnose, and often results in later diagnoses for adolescent girls.

According to a study released this year, the rate of children being diagnosed with ADHD increased by 1 million between 2016 and 2022. Melissa Danielson, a statistician with the CDC's National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities, and lead author of that study, noted that ADHD in girls often looks like "daydreaming," being unable to focus or being hyper-focused on the wrong tasks. 

After finishing my call with Ella's teacher, I left a message for our pediatrician, and a few hours later she called me with instructions. "You need to fill out a Vanderbilt questionnaire, a form that will give us guidance about her behaviors," she said in a monotone, as though she'd given the instructions hundreds of times. 

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My husband, Ryan, and I printed and filled out the document separately, to be sure not to influence one another. Then, days later, the doctor called to give me the results.

"It's not a black-and-white answer. She's in the middle; she's showing signs of distractibility, difficulty following instructions and some other processing concerns, but in other areas she's fine."

She continued, "I know you want a definitive direction, but she'll need to undergo a formal assessment. I'll send you a list of providers that offer it."

I knew what it meant: more waiting, more unknowns. 

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Over the course of the next week, I must have called more than 50 providers, leaving brief messages on their voicemails, detailing the outcome of the form we'd filled out and what I was looking for. When they did answer, I begged their administrative staff for an opening, explaining how long it had taken us to get to this point. Even when I spoke to a few doctors directly, they all said the same thing. "We're booking about six months out." Another said, "It's around April of next year for the next opening."

Finally, I found a doctor to do the testing over winter break. In the months leading up to the testing, the dynamic between Ella and I shifted. 

Before, I'd often blamed her when she didn't like school and couldn't focus. It started every morning after breakfast. She'd slam her door and holler, "I don't want to go! I hate school." After a few minutes, I'd sit down on her bed, my hand on her shoulder in a half-hug, trying to reassure her. "Everything will be OK." Then, she'd slump to the floor, wiping her face, and then we'd go. It was a constant cycle of arguments, every morning and every night.

Now, as we inched toward clarity, and I realized there might be a reason she had been acting this way that wasn't her choice or her fault, I was more easily able to empathize with her. My frustration and impatience turned to quiet listening as she searched for answers in her schoolwork. Even if the test came back and she did not have ADHD, I felt like there had, at least, been a breakthrough for me. 

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At school, things changed, too. Before the testing was done, her teacher began seating her up front, closer to her desk, to capture her attention and make sure she understood what was happening in class. Every Friday, she went through each assignment, step by step, to make sure she had what she needed to complete it. The teacher did daily check-ins with her at her desk, and offered to stay after school often to help when she was stuck.

During regular email check-ins, her teacher asked me how she was doing at home, encouraging both me and her at once. It felt like we had our own personal cheerleader. It helped me get through it ― until we got the answer we needed to formally put those changes in place at school. 

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That December, the psychiatrist welcomed us in for testing. Afterward, Ella was drained. The stress of trying to answer questions and keep focus for hours at a time in a high pressure situation came with a weight. For weeks, we waited and finally confirmed she did have ADD. But it wasn't just non-hyperactive ADD—which is more common among females. She also had anxiety as a comorbidity. I was not familiar that term before her assessment, a reference to a patient experiencing two conditions at the same time. 

A BMJ Mental Health Journal article about causal relationships between ADHD and other mental health conditions reported that there's a "prevalence of about 25–50%" of anxiety disorders among patients with ADHD. I saw signs of anxiety in Ella, but I never thought it would be more complicated or that it could be related to ADHD. 

Ella's ADHD indicators included things like a lack of focus in class, getting frustrated easily, heightened anxiety around test time and organizational challenges. Some of her symptoms of ADHD mirrored anxiety, like a need for things to be perfect or being easily distracted and unable to finish a task. Sometimes she exhibited multiple symptoms at once. 

The formal document was in my hands, and that January, I sat down with the school's administrative team, special education team and her teacher. The one that changed Ella's life, that saw her for who she was. We put in place a 504 plan, a formal written plan that would allow Ella to get what she needed to be more successful in school. It would give her more time for tests, to have more time for homework, to get the help she needed so she could improve her grades, stay on course and feel supported in her diagnosis. 

She became more willing to go to school, with fewer meltdowns in the mornings. She began exuding a confidence I hadn't seen before, a willingness to ask for help at home and at school. That year, she began cognitive behavioral therapy to address her fears and concerns about school and the rest of her stressors. She also implemented more organizational tools she'd learned, and got extra time on assignments and extra help when she needed it.

Before long, her grades came up and she started to love school. Her grades went from C's and D's to almost all A's at the end of the final quarter. Last year, as she entered sixth grade — thanks to her fifth grade teacher paving the way for her and laying the foundation for her to be prepared for this major transition — she found her way again. She finished the year on a high note with almost-straight A's.

As we approach 7th grade in a few weeks, I know she's anticipating the workload and wondering how it will all go. I feel the anxiety rising up inside me, too. But now we have a formal plan in place, accommodations for her and a supportive framework (at home and school) to start another year. It feels a little less daunting.

As her mom, it is frustrating that it took so long to figure it out. I wish I could erase all those years she struggled, as well as my own frustration with her. If I'd known about the signs of ADD in girls and comorbidities, I could have helped her earlier.

But, in the end, it took just one observant and caring person ― her teacher ― seeing who she really was, taking the time to look a little deeper into what she needed and believing in her. She left an indelible mark on Ella's life, a gift she will carry with her forever.

This piece was previously published on HuffPost and is being shared again as part of HuffPost Personal's "Best Of" series.

Do you have a compelling personal story you'd like to see published on HuffPost? Find out what we're looking for here and send us a pitch at pitch@huffpost.com.

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Read the original on HuffPost

Curious Kids is a series for children of all ages. If you have a question you'd like an expert to answer, send it to curiouskidsus@theconversation.com.

What is the universe expanding into if it's already infinite? – Mael, age 10, Missoula, Montana

When you bake a loaf of bread or a batch of muffins, you put the dough into a pan. As the dough bakes in the oven, it expands into the baking pan. Any chocolate chips or blueberries in the muffin batter become farther away from each other as the muffin batter expands.

The expansion of the universe is, in some ways, similar. But this analogy gets one thing wrong – while the dough expands into the baking pan, the universe doesn't have anything to expand into. It just expands into itself.

It can feel like a brain teaser, but the universe is considered everything within the universe. In the expanding universe, there is no pan. Just dough. Even if there were a pan, it would be part of the universe and therefore it would expand with the pan.

Even for me, a teaching professor in physics and astronomy who has studied the universe for years, these ideas are hard to grasp. You don't experience anything like this in your daily life. It's like asking what direction is farther north of the North Pole.

Another way to think about the universe's expansion is by thinking about how other galaxies are moving away from our galaxy, the Milky Way. Scientists know the universe is expanding because they can track other galaxies as they move away from ours. They define expansion using the rate that other galaxies move away from us. This definition allows them to imagine expansion without needing something to expand into.

The expanding universe

The universe started with the Big Bang 13.8 billion years ago. The Big Bang describes the origin of the universe as an extremely dense, hot singularity. This tiny point suddenly went through a rapid expansion called inflation, where every place in the universe expanded outward. But the name Big Bang is misleading. It wasn't a giant explosion, as the name suggests, but a time where the universe expanded rapidly.

The universe then quickly condensed and cooled down, and it started making matter and light. Eventually, it evolved to what we know today as our universe.

The idea that our universe was not static and could be expanding or contracting was first published by the physicist Alexander Friedman in 1922. He confirmed mathematically that the universe is expanding.

While Friedman proved that the universe was expanding, at least in some spots, it was Edwin Hubble who looked deeper into the expansion rate. Many other scientists confirmed that other galaxies are moving away from the Milky Way, but in 1929, Hubble published his famous paper that confirmed the entire universe was expanding, and that the rate it's expanding at is increasing.

This discovery continues to puzzle astrophysicists. What phenomenon allows the universe to overcome the force of gravity keeping it together while also expanding by pulling objects in the universe apart? And on top of all that, its expansion rate is speeding up over time.

Many scientists use a visual called the expansion funnel to describe how the universe's expansion has sped up since the Big Bang. Imagine a deep funnel with a wide brim. The left side of the funnel – the narrow end – represents the beginning of the universe. As you move toward the right, you are moving forward in time. The cone widening represents the universe's expansion.

Scientists haven't been able to directly measure where the energy causing this accelerating expansion comes from. They haven't been able to detect it or measure it. Because they can't see or directly measure this type of energy, they call it dark energy.

According to researchers' models, dark energy must be the most common form of energy in the universe, making up about 68% of the total energy in the universe. The energy from everyday matter, which makes up the Earth, the Sun and everything we can see, accounts for only about 5% of all energy.

Outside the expansion funnel

So, what is outside the expansion funnel?

Scientists don't have evidence of anything beyond our known universe. However, some predict that there could be multiple universes. A model that includes multiple universes could fix some of the problems scientists encounter with the current models of our universe.

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One major problem with our current physics is that researchers can't integrate quantum mechanics, which describes how physics works on a very small scale, and gravity, which governs large-scale physics.

The rules for how matter behaves at the small scale depend on probability and quantized, or fixed, amounts of energy. At this scale, objects can come into and pop out of existence. Matter can behave as a wave. The quantum world is very different from how we see the world.

At large scales, which physicists call classical mechanics, objects behave how we expect them to behave on a day-to-day basis. Objects are not quantized and can have continuous amounts of energy. Objects do not pop in and out of existence.

The quantum world behaves kind of like a light switch, where energy has only an on-off option. The world we see and interact with behaves like a dimmer switch, allowing for all levels of energy.

But researchers run into problems when they try to study gravity at the quantum level. At the small scale, physicists would have to assume gravity is quantized. But the research many of them have conducted doesn't support that idea.

One way to make these theories work together is the multiverse theory. There are many theories that look beyond our current universe to explain how gravity and the quantum world work together. Some of the leading theories include string theory, brane cosmology, loop quantum theory and many others.

Regardless, the universe will continue to expand, with the distance between the Milky Way and most other galaxies getting longer over time.

Hello, curious kids! Do you have a question you'd like an expert to answer? Ask an adult to send your question to CuriousKidsUS@theconversation.com. Please tell us your name, age and the city where you live.

And since curiosity has no age limit – adults, let us know what you're wondering, too. We won't be able to answer every question, but we will do our best.

This article is republished from The Conversation, a nonprofit, independent news organization bringing you facts and trustworthy analysis to help you make sense of our complex world. It was written by: Nicole Granucci, Quinnipiac University

Read more:

• What is space made of? An astrophysics expert explains all the components – from radiation to dark matter – found in the vacuum of space

• Does outer space end – or go on forever?

• Are there any planets outside of our solar system?

Nicole Granucci does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.