 The paper discusses the current state of autism research and suggests that the current concept of autism does not adequately capture all aspects of the condition. The authors argue that the current approach of treating autism as a developmental disorder limits our understanding of the underlying biology and social context of autism. They propose a new classification system which takes into account both behavioral and cognitive, as well as biomedical signs, and the functional significance of autism in both impaired and typical development. This article was authored by S.A. Morozov, T.I. Morozova, and S.S. Morozova.