Autism has been described as an epidemic, but this claim is contested and may point to an awareness epidemic, i.e. changes in the definition of what autism is and more attention being invested in diagnosis leading to a rise in registered cases. The sex ratio of children diagnosed with autism is skewed in favour of boys, and girls with autism tend to be diagnosed much later than boys. Building and further developing the notion of ‘configuration’ of epidemics, this article explores the configuration of autism in Denmark, with a particular focus on the health system and social support to families with children diagnosed with autism, seen from a parental perspective.The article points to diagnostic dynamics that contribute to explaining why girls with autism are not diagnosed as easily as boys. We unfold these dynamics through the analysis of a case of a Danish family with autism.

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This paper explores the tension between perceiving autism as a spectrum of traits or as a core. A spectrum is defined as a tension between two extremes. A core, on the other hand, is defined by an essence or a pervasive structure. I present the views of three autistic women that try to establish autism as a core, in which people with autism are separate from the rest of humankind and not extreme versions of humanity, the consequences of their statements are that there are no extreme versions of autism. Autism as a ‘core’ manifests itself in behavior (e.g. whether you hug others in distress or not, an example put forward by the women), which allows them to reevaluate the diagnoses of fellow autistic humans. I argue that the worldview of the three women is exemplified by their use of examples, and that what could be considered as ‘extreme examples’ on a ‘human spectrum’, might represent ‘ideal examples’ in their view of the ‘autistic spectrum’. Thinking about autism as a spectrum with its own examples allows us to understand the social dynamics of broadening the autism criteria. Furthermore, this article discusses how extreme examples can be used to create new wholes when spectrums are being broadened to the point of bursting.