RSDavis wrote:
So, they are totally doing away with the diagnosis of AS? Seems odd, considering so much Aspie pathology is the exact opposite of typical Autism. I am wondering what this will change, in regard to diagnosing, getting support, etc.
Also, to you Aspies out there, will it change what you say you have, or will you continue to say Asperger's Syndrome?
If AS wasn't at least similar to autism, then it wouldn't be considered a form of autism. Autism is a continuous spectrum and AS is a part of it, so they're not really getting rid of AS- they're just calling it Autism because the diagnosis will focus on an individual's personal needs rather than try to shove them into a box full of expectation of how an aspie should be in comparison to a person with classic autism.
Personally, I use the term aspie and autistic interchangebly when I describe myself. This could be because my original diagnosis was in fact classic autism. The reason why it's changed to AS is because they realised that my profile of needs (after so many years in special education) better matched a typical asperger child (or something like that). Most of my friends are on different parts of the spectrum and I suppose that I identify better with the special ed kids than the mainstream kids (not that it's terribly relevent- it's just that some people with AS complain that they're nothing like other autistics but personal experiences are subjective, to be honest). It's kind of like the term "Manic Depression"- bipolar people still use it.
It's very difficult to define what makes AS and HFA any different from one another. I mean, I also have a friend (who is actually higher functioning than myself) who had a longer speech delay than myself and he has a current dx of Aspergers. You just never know what you're going to get with an autistic person. I also know people who are diagnosed with AS and PDD-NOS and they're not very functional and people with classic autism who are working and in higher education.
I think that therapy needs to be tailored to the individual's needs, not determined by expectations of how a person with such and such a form of autism should be.
19 Mar 2010, 9:09 pm
