The idea of autism as a single spectrum has shaped thinking for decades, but the metaphor is misleading, says this public health expert. SWANSEA, Wales: The phrases “autism spectrum” or “on the spectrum” have become part of everyday language. They are often used as different ways of referring to someone who is “neurodivergent”. The term was coined in the 1980s by psychiatrist Dr Lorna Wing, whose work transformed how autism was understood in the United Kingdom. At the time, her “autism spectrum”