system
Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:
human
ELI5: Why do some consider autism to be part of the neurodiversity, instead of a disorder/pathology? What, then, are the implications for other mental disorders? (eg, mood disorders)
gpt
Because in many cases the line between "neurodiversity" and a disorder is a line drawn by society. Consider homosexuality. It was once considered to be a disorder, and is now part of the spectrum of human sexuality. Its removal is due mostly to social activism and protest from, and advocation for, the homosexual communities.

Technically, the only thing that should be a disorder is something that, in some way, results in harm to the individual or others, or otherwise significantly impairs their ability to function in society. But even that has subjective elements. While "harm" is somewhat clear-cut, "ability to function" is not so. Going back to the homosexual example, if you define a person's ability to function in society around a family model - that a person's goal is to find a mate of the opposite sex and produce a family - then you may assess homosexuality as an inability to participate in a significant purpose of society.