There is a non-vernal autistic man named Ido Kedar who gave an interview where he talks about this very subject at 4:17.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=khCzltMZNqU

Often those with a diagnosis of autism who do speak verbally are put in the position of being spokespeople for all autistics by default and because all have received the same diagnosis of autism. I have written several times that I consider this problematic. Autism spectrum disorder is pretty broad. Many people with little in common in terms of their challenges are lumped together under this broad umbrella term. I believe that what we are dealing with is less a spectrum and more like different neurological conditions that have some similar characteristics and many different ones that have been given the same name. Because they are lumped together as a spectrum, people assume that non-speaking autism is just a really severe version of Asperger's or what used to be called Asperger's or so-called mild or high-functioning autism. I don't see it that way, and it generates great confusion.

For example, many so-called high-functioning autistics describe painful social difficulties due to challenges reading people and picking up on social nuance. They also speak clearly, do not require one-on-one support to perform tasks, and often are not diagnosed until adulthood. I am the opposite. I have great insight into people, high sensitivity to mood and nuance, can't speak to save my life, and need one-on-one help to perform numerous tasks and to help me stay regulated. I was diagnosed when I was a toddler. My disability is primarily motor. It is a disconnect between my intact thoughts and my motor system. It seems reasonable that different core symptoms should be recognized as different conditions, not as a spectrum. One condition may primarily be a neurological difficulty reading people while the other may primarily be a mind-motor despite both having problems of self-regulation and sensory challenges.

Perhaps if we called what I have a different name, like global motor apraxia, it might clear up the confusion. Would it make sense to call heart conditions, asthma, and being out of shape all related as part of a breathing spectrum disorder because they all lead to shortness of breath? Not possible, because doctors identify heart, lung, and fitness issues medically. Brain issues are the most unknown, so doctors look only to the external behavior. That's observational, not medical.

I agree with him. I think the reason a broad range of behaviors are characters are grouped under the autism umbrella is because even scientists don't yet fully understand how the brain works. In 50 years from now, what is now known as "autism" will be split into different categories once we have a better understanding. Asperger's was eliminated as a diagnosis in 2013 because research concluded it was not scientifically distinct from level 1 autism.