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The way society talks about autism is changing — and for Íø±¬ÃÅ researcher , that shift carries real consequences for science, diagnosis and daily life.

“The move from awareness to acceptance has been welcome,” says Russo, an associate professor of psychology in the and director of the . “It has led to a bigger focus on accepting differences and working with people’s strengths, rather than expecting everyone to learn or function in the same ways.”

But Russo cautions that the “autism as superpower” narrative, while helpful in reducing stigma, can create a skewed public image that doesn’t reflect the full range of autistic experiences—particularly for those who require significant daily support. As the diagnostic criteria have broadened over time to include more individuals with subtler presentations, she notes that research attention has drifted toward those with lower support needs, leaving a gap for autistic people whose daily lives require more intensive care.

The CARE Lab studies how autistic individuals process and integrate sensory information—work that has identified distinct brain signatures underlying those differences. Autistic people consistently show earlier and sometimes stronger neural responses to what they hear and see, responses that are linked to a range of sensory and behavioral characteristics.

Sensory differences are now part of autism’s official diagnostic criteria, and they vary widely: some individuals are hypersensitive to sound or touch, while others actively seek out sensory experiences. Russo encourages those wanting to understand the day-to-day reality of autistic life to seek out first-person accounts written by autistic people themselves.

The diagnostic picture is also more complicated than many realize. “If you have met one person with autism, you have met one person with autism,” Russo says—a reminder that variability between autistic individuals is vast. Autism presents differently across age, gender and cognitive ability, and co-occurring conditions like ADHD, anxiety and depression are common. Researchers found that girls and women are often diagnosed later, and that clinicians may need to look for different behavioral patterns within the same diagnostic categories when evaluating female patients.

On a broader level, Russo urges the public to be mindful of the unconscious biases that can shape how autistic people are perceived and treated.

“Autism is a disability, but part of that has to do with social and systemic barriers that make it hard for autistic people to flourish,” she says. “Be aware of your biases. How you treat people has an impact.”

World Autism Awareness Day is observed annually on April 2.