Autism Subtypes...

The common feature of all autism is that we are dyssocial (not anti-social); that is, we are social klutzes who still desire to connect with others.

Benign Autism
Historically and predominantly, that is our only shared lack. We have no "mental" disability. Benign autism is currently diagnosed as Autism Spectrum Disorder, severity level 1 [ASD1]. It is a form of neuro-diversity.

Aggravated Autism
ASD2s & 3s are ASD1s that have an additional brain injury on top of their hereditary autism. They used to number 1:10,000 births. An unknown epidemic¹ struck the millennials bringing that occurrence up to 4-5:1000 births² (I have two such children). It is known in some circles as Millennial Autism. (That is what most people think of when they speak of autism.)

California DDS Autism Cases By Birth Year (as of 2014)
Image taken from California's Autism Crisis (earlier version)

These are ASD2s & 3s only; not including ASD1s. This caseload did not previously exist under a different diagnosis.

Other Dichotomous Labels Used:
Evautism vs. Dysautism
Mild autism vs. Regressive autism
504 autism vs. DDS autism (Special ed.)
Long-bus autism vs. Short-bus autism
Asperger's vs. Kanner's (DSM-4 & ICD-10)
ASD1 vs. ASD2/3 (DSM-5)
Autism w/o Cognitive Deficits vs. Autism w/Cognitive Deficits (ICD-11)

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¹See NEXT POST for a leading contender.

²From downloadable report at Autism Society-San Francisco Bay Area, "about 1.2% of all male births (2008 birth year sample) in California now result in DDS autism." According to the article, "DDS autism" only includes cases of aggravated autism, not the benign variety.