Mild AS

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I see it as part of the broader issue of whether psychological attributes and/or psychiatric “disorders” are continuous dimensions, or discrete categories. For some more formal discussion, see

Acton, G. S., & Zodda, J. J. (2005). Classification of psychopathology‭: Goals and methods in an empirical approach‭. Theory‭ and ‬Psychology, Vol. 15, pp. 373-399.
http://tap.sagepub.com/cgi/content/abstract/15/3/373

De Boeck,‭ ‬P.,‭ ‬Wilson,‭ ‬M.,‭ & ‬Acton,‭ ‬G. S.‭ (‬2005‭)‬.‭ ‬A conceptual and psychometric ‏framework for distinguishing categories and dimensions.‭ ‬Psychological Review, ‏Vol. 112,‎ pp. ‏129-‏158.
http://psycnet.apa.org/journals/rev/112/1/129/

Last edited by Logan5 on 11 Oct 2009, 3:44 pm, edited 1 time in total.

I have mild AS.

Autism has multiple spectrums, not just one. You can arrange people in a line along ability to socialize, sensory processing, language ability, etc., and you'll get them in different orders for each criterion. People with Asperger's differ from each other in symptom type and strength, so naturally some will be "milder" than others. For that matter, there are people who are technically neurotypical but so close to the Asperger's range that scientists are studying them to try to figure out where the genetics for autism come from and how they work; and there are more of those people than there are people with mild autism just like there are more people with mild autism than with the profound sort. It's a spectrum. Multiple spectrums.

I think that's called being bi.

Actually, sexuality has a spectrum too... well, three spectrums, that I can think of, maybe more--gender identity, homo/hetero orientation, and level of sexual desire. Not to mention the spectrum of orientation stereotype and gender stereotype, which measure how much of a match there are between your non-sex-related characteristics and the average person with that gender or orientation. (For example, a lesbian construction worker fits orientation but not gender stereotypes...) I'm not making up the gender-stereotype thing, btw; they actually measure it on the MMPI.

I think Greentea was making a joke

Sorry to nit-pick, but, contrary to common misconception, AS is not necessarily a mild form of autism. At least based on DSM criteria, it is simply a form of autism that does not manifest with speech delay. While there may be a tendency for the autistic characteristics to be less pronounced with AS, there is absolutely no requirement that a HFA person, who had a discernable speech delay, be "more autistic" than an AS person who spoke "on time" (even if one could objectively define those terms).

Autism has numerous manifestations, most of which have a range of degrees, and as a result every case of autism is unique. I was able to read as well as speak by three, and languages are a special interest of mine. Still, the mechanics of speaking are difficult, and as a result I speak somewhat slowly and frequently trip on words, even though my penchant for pedantry results in my having good pronunciation in foreign languages. I also need to be silent for extended periods of time (if you don't count vocalising the cacophany of repetitive thoughts in my mind) - if you hang around me for half a day, I'll vary from almost chatty to totally non-vocal, particularly toward evening (remind me to only go on morning or midday dates, please).

Because I (reportedly) used expressive speech by age three (in addition to the much more pleasurable echolalic variety), I am generally classified as AS, even though to this day I am not able to verbalise anything about feelings and frequently can only put verbal thoughts together over extended periods of time. Otherwise, over the past 42+ years since I have been indistinguishable from HFA. Furthermore, as anyone who knows me well can attest, there's nothing "mild" about my autism except for not having the obvious limitations on functioning that I would if I were completely rather than only selectively non-verbal - but I believe we reserve the word "profound" for those extreme cases.

With major agnosias and integration issues on all senses, serious sleep disturbances, thermoregulation issues, sometimes debilitating thought organinsation difficulty, obvious dyspraxia, extreme variations in abilities - from savant skills to abject cluelessness, and the usual assortment of autistic social challenges, I am considered closer to severe than mild in "degree of autisticness".

Autism exists , AS doesn't exist.

Which is why I use the phrase mild AS to distinguish myself... you and many others are much more seriously impacted by ASD and I acknowledge and respect that.

AS is not a good fit for me. It is more likely I am moderate to high functioning autistic, rather than AS [which I would be dx'ed, except for no delay in speech development, however there was quite significant delay in reading ability]. And if AS at all, it is a mild variation. Most aspies appear a great deal more consistently high functioning than I am, as well as much more driven by a logical approach. I am highly intuitive pattern thinker, while most aspies say they are visual or verbal thinkers.

Last edited by alba on 12 Oct 2009, 8:16 am, edited 1 time in total.

To complicate matters more, it's not even certain that AS is a form of Autism at all. It may be a totally different neurological condition and root cause.

And if AS doesn't exist, then why am I fired?

LMFAO!!

'Cause you just can't get along with others?

On that basis, one could say you don't exist either - no substantiation, no basis in fact.

AS as a condition has a set of criteria, as does the entire class of ASDs; how that is -expressed- by the affected individual may vary. Thus, one who has AS may exhibit each of the characteristics to various degrees.


M.

Yes, I meant that sarcastically. Some things you either are, or you're not. You can't have "a little bit of a different neurology".

I did vote that "mild AS" exists, but I see the point of those posting here who object to the term. I used to use that term, but now I will instead use the phrase "High Functioning Asperger's" or HF AS.

Tend to agree with LPP's assessment.

My suggestion would be to delete AS and add 2 new categories to the autism spectrum, EHFA and MFA.

EHFA......Exceptionally high functioning autistic
HFA........High
MFA........Moderate
LFA.........Low


Most of those diagnosed AS could be re-categorized HFA or EHFA. For instance, Greentea, because of her polyglot talent, would likely fall into the EHFA dx, under this system.

Autism dx generally means social problems. I don't think severity of social probs should be a basis for dx, but rather recognized level of (consistent) cognitive sophistication should be the yardstick. Furthermore, it is up to society to accommodate EHFAs, because to waste their talents is really very stupid. That should be patently obvious to nearly everyone, with this system.

With no contact with any kind of family whatsoever, no friends, no employability, you want to call me "extremely high functioning" and leave me without social security help? You wanna see me die in the streets? My higher than average ability for languages is accounted for by my extreme NLD, by the way, which is also the reason for my visio-spatial impairment and my motor clumsiness, as well as my other learning impairments.