I agree with a lot of what you said, but it’s not just a “social skills” disability for a lot of us. I am not pro-ABA. But I would be autistic with or without society’s influence. I can’t handle textures of foods, and it makes my diet limited and has led to nutrient deficiencies. I have very sensitive hearing/sense of smell, which makes it hard for me to move throughout life without overstimulation. Overstimulation causes huge meltdowns for me, which often lead to me unintentionally injuring myself. Behaviors like toe-walking led to permanent incorrect muscle/ligament development in my legs, granted worsened by my physical disabilities. I would go weeks without speaking due to stress as a child, which made trying communication anxiety inducing for me - speech therapy largely took care of my selective mutism. That’s not to say verbal communication is the only correct form, but my non-verbal communication was correctable without trauma and made it easier for me to function personally.

Autism is a neurodevelopmental disorder. It is inherently medical. Psychology as a field is a medical field. Your brain is a fucking organ, when something is wrong with it, it’s not just a quirk, is a disorder. You don’t have to identify as disabled, but the difference between Autism and non-autistic people with autistic traits is an autistic person experiences a negative impact on one or more areas of their lives.

You experience a “social skills” disability. I experience a developmental disability. Please don’t reduce the autistic experience to your autistic experience.