Aspergers and Autism

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I am speaking solely on observation and not on a formal scientific study. I think the question on whether Asperger's Syndrome is a form of autism depends on the individual. Asperger's has a wide variety of signs, and not everybody has every sign. I think Autism is one of those signs. For the record, I think I am one with the autism, but I have seen some with Asperger's that I wouldn't say has autism. What do you think?

I think all people with AS are autistic, but may miss some traits of classical autism. I think AS is very different from classical autism, with a variety of different traits, though it still has a great overlap with autism. This is why I don't like psychiatrists are thinking about getting AS out of the DSM-V, I think Aspergers has a variety of traits that differ from classical autism. I think it is autism, but in a way it still has lots of differents. There are too many overlapping facts to get AS away from autism.

I was under the impression that in autism there is a module of the brain which never 'switches on.' The part specialised for sociability - that pays special attention to faces, attributes mental states to things, which interprets language as communication rather than description etc. etc. In AS, this module 'switches on' but only very late, I think in my case at about 8 years old, after the majority of brain development has already taken place. This leaves one with a permanent disability as the brain is no longer able to develop the flexible perception most people take for granted.
That's my understanding of it.

I don't have a diagnosis and am high functioning, yet I at first identified with autism much more than Asperger's. Autism felt like something that described me (at least to a degree), whereas Asperger's didn't. Only when instead of just seeing me as having autistic traits, I began to see it as this inner part of me, this part that I'd been calling Little Girl, being autistic could I then see Asperger's as something that describes me, at least to a degree. It's like inner me is autistic, and outer me is aspie.

That's how I subjectively feel about autism versus Asperger's, as far as me personally.

Psiri, I think you're cutting out most of the classic autistics from your description... you're assuming that classic autistics never want to socialize; that's just not true, as most of them do, only it's exhausting, which is exactly the case with aspies too. There are people here who are diagnosed that way who aren't just social but in love and married (and my dad was one of 'em; he didn't talk til he was practically in kindergarten so I know he's classic, not aspie)... Attributing mental states to other people is "theory of mind" and all but the most delayed classic autistics develop it, and some on time or early... Language as communication is another concept they will eventually get, just like Aspies will eventually get it... I don't see a difference.

Uh... and I still don't pay more attention to faces. I'm 25.

I don't see the difference either, really. Or rather I don't know the difference. It seems that problems with theory of mind is the defining thing in both populations. It's certainly the thing that I have most problems with.
Whilst I'm diagnosed as AS, I usually refer to myself as autistic as I find it more descriptive of my condition... autos, automatic, autonomous...

I notice a lot of individuals with aspergers have more serious deficients in social interaction that autism, only because with aspergers they want to socialize, or they actually try to socialize, while somebody with autism rather doesnt care, and if they do socialize they dont try to really understand the right way of socializing basically. I do notice usually with aspergers with therapies their stimming is basically unoticable compared to a person with autism, or a person with aspergers rather trys to hide their stimming rather then a person with autism. Other then that I still see aspergers as a form of autism, if you take language delay out, IQ out, verbal IQ out, HFA and aspergers really don't have much of a difference.

I'm a classic autie, my socializing is weird, i'll jump in every i want to, but rather dont care for socializing or being the way the society wants you. For example we went out to eat with a group of friends sunday night, my boyfriend said he was so proud of me i jumped in the conversation like 3-4 times, i was like what was i doing the other times, because i thought i was socializing more then that, he goes well... you clapped, flapped, interrupted a couple times to say hello to everybody, banged you head against the window, screamed doggy really loud, bounced up and down for a bit, headshook, and rocked for a while. Thank gosh for his car club because his whole car club accepts me, so if your ever in Jersey and have a nice car, join our car club, you can flap all you want lolol. Anyways point is, my socializing behavior is something that i only care to suit me, instead of trying to socialize so everybodys happy, if that makes any sense. Wow i think i just lost my train of thought... yea anyways i still think aspergers is a form of autism, because in some cases aspergers isn't always light or mild.

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Being Normal Is Vastly Overrated

I've been wrestling with this question as well. It's so good to see everyone's thoughts on it.

I've been dxed with Asperger's, and I've always had an intuitive understanding of classic autism. Whenever I've read anything about it, I'd just "get" it--the overstimulation, the overload, the need to switch off. I've been referring to myself as autistic and it feels exactly right. I really dislike it when the doctors make these sorts of "scientific" decisions and draw lines like this, because there is so much overlap, and the areas in common are so significant.

If my father were alive, and open to an assessment, he would undoubtedly be dxed an Aspie. To outward appearances, he was like me: he had a career, a spouse, kids, etc. He seemed high-functioning. But I grew up with him and saw how he dealt with life and autistic is the word to describe it. It's like someone else said: There's an "outer" person who's an Aspie, an an "inner" person who is autistic. My father and I were very much alike in that way.

There is so much confusion in the DSM description anyway. If you speak by age 2, that's not considered a language delay, but it actually is. Most people say their first words well before that. So, in that regard, a lot of people dxed as Aspies would be more correctly dxed as having HFA, since the language delay is the only factor that seems to divide them at this point.

More alike than unlike is the usual jazz of late. Which means that there's impairments in the few core areas that make up "Autism" (social, repetitive behaviours, and communication, for example), but the two different labels describe two groups that manifest these core areas differently.

Whether there's a point to differentiate these two groups or not based on something such as aloof behaviour compared to odd and eccentric behaviour is the usual topic of contention by various professionals and institutes.

Personally, Infantile Autism and Asperger's as they're defined, and based on Wing's original paper/clinical account, point out two manifestations of a similar or the same disorder. There was no clear consensus within her paper, however, other than saying that it was similar to Infantile Autism (probably the same thing as Schizoid Personality Disorder too), and that one child she posted an account of started off with Infantile Autism and actually showed the symptoms of Asperger's Disorder as he aged (in elementary school and prior, he was clearly showing signs of Infantile Autism).

"Spectrum":