Categorical diagnosis: a fatal flaw for autism research?

The use of autism as a diagnostic category guiding translational research is fraught with so many problems that the validity of research conclusions is suspect. Neuroscientists would benefit from attending to nosological difficulties to formulate meaningful research bridging basic biological systems and human disease. I propose a diagnostic schema that could translate more efficiently between the clinical and the neuroscience perspective as a step to improve the effectiveness of this type of research.