What is the most common type of autism?

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Thank you.. I always thought they were on the spectrum as well. My husband's clinic treats ASDs, ADHD, Tourette's and Rett's. I assumed they were all part of it.

I thought that it was PDD-NOS, AS, and then Classic Autism. That's interesting that classic autism is the most common. If the theories that only half the cases of AS are being diagnosed are correct, then classic autism is still higher even. Interesting.

Of course there's the messiness of the overlap between Classic Autism and Asperger's and the questioning which one to label people with, but I don't know whether that often makes a difference.

OK... I think you did yes. I find it hard to beleive that their not diagnostic terms, because my mum says's that I was first diagnosed with Classic Autism & then later as 'high functioning autism' so if there not diagnostic terms, then how come I was diagnosed with the term & I've heard others say they are too. Even if it's not a term; it's still defenitly a type, so I want to use it.

I too would have though it was AS, because most of the people I've met that are getting diagnosed are AS, & also there are loads of people who have never received a diagnoses who I think could be AS, so does PDD-NOS also apply when someones never been diagnosed before & could be on the spectrm, but doesn't show enough of the symptoms to be catagrised as AS?

I was expecting it to be PDD-NOS, because it's an umbrella term for those who fall between the Autism and Asperger's criteria. I think it catches a lot more people into its basket because it seems to be a broader term. It takes in people with impairments that make it hard for clinicians to diagnose them either with Autism or Asperger's and it also grabs the people who are not quite Aspie but on the spectrum.

@AlexWelshman: Just because you like a term doesn't mean it's a valid one. I think people might use HFA/LFA as a descriptive, but clinically speaking it means nothing. There isn't a cut-off for "high functioning" vs "low functioning". Perhaps someone told your mum that you were HFA as a way of saying you don't have a mental impairment.

Well, it depends on what you mean by 'Mental Impearment'. I was diagnosed with Learning Difficulties as well as HFA. And anyway, there is a cutoff! In the OU course on the autism spectrum; it says there's an IQ cut off of 70.

Well,they say that Retts is still a part of the spectrum, & there are some experts who think that 'Atentian Defisits Hyperactivity disorder' (ADHD) is on the spectrum, but it isn't taken as a fact, but there are many people with AS who'll get diagnosed with ADHD & viseverser, so there are simelarites between that & AS, but they are still classed as seperate conditions. And you're welcome too

As of DSM-V, Rett Syndrome is being taken off the autistic spectrum. Which I think is a good idea - I know a girl with Rett Syndrome and she only superficially resembles an autistic person. (She has repetitive motor mannerisms and very little speech. But her motor mannerisms are actually involuntary movements, and from what I can tell she doesn't seem to process things in an autistic sort of way. And she's sociable and makes eye contact, which doesn't exclude autism but does make it less likely.)

I agree; especially as they're just forming all the types of autism into one in (I think) 2013, & I really can't see RS being brought into just autism, because it clearly is different with some simelarites. I think it even has a specific knowen cause as autism doesn't in most case's. I could be wrong about Retts having a knowen cause, since I don't know that much about Retts.

I have one diagnostic report say "Asperger's Syndrome" in which it later is called "autism", "HFA" and they talk about "autistic symptoms". I am sure that they weren't aware of what they called it by half the time.

The other mentions that my diagnosis is called "Asperger's autism".

They all mean "F84.5 Asperger's Syndrome" because that is the official term for where I live (used by insurances, government), but the people involved called it/wrote it down the way they liked it best.

Diagnostically speaking, HFA is muddled, I agree with the others there. But I think it sure is fine to call your autism "HFA" if that's what you feel comfortable with. I really like to use the term too though I realise it means different things to different people.

I have met lots of people with PPD-NOS. They seem to be more socially motivated than I do, yet still struggle mildly, as though they're on the borderline. My mum knows a person who has an 18-year-old daughter who has major difficulties with social interaction, and she is mostly mute and only works one day a week where she's on her own because she doesn't want to work with anyone else. But she doesn't have any of the other AS symptoms like special interests, anxieties, sensory issues, meltdowns, stimming, or anything else. She only has this one major thing, which is severe shyness. Her voice is like a little squeak, and her voice only raises a little bit when she's in her house with her parents. I think that's something like PPD-NOS?

Oh. My. Gosh. I'll explain it again, k?

There is no one quality, or even group of qualities, that makes a person "high" or "low" functioning. Some say it's IQ; some say it's being verbal; some say it's whether a person can live alone, or keep a job of some kind, or if they're in special education or not. So if you say, "high functioning autism," how am I to know what criteria you're using? Unless you say, there is no way, and so your words are meaningless. You'd do better to simply USE the descriptive terms in the first place. I even prefer "mild, moderate, severe" to HF or LF.

What if you have a person who ranges from odd/echolalic speech to none at all, who lives alone but has staff most of the time, can't cook or clean without help, can drive a bit, but can't cross the street without help, IQ that hits the test ceiling, no special classes, college degree. Am I HF or LF? There's no way to say!

I really like your logic. That makes very good sense actually; but I thought low functioning was the same thing as severe. It mesant you're non verbal & cab't do anything, but I guess that's profound is it not? Your right! You're absalutly right! HFA, MFA & LFA are meaningless. Sorry for annoying you. May I ask, if you perfer these terms; are you mild or moderate> I'm not going to put severe in the options coz if you were severe, yuo probably wouldn't be on here would you?

Oi vey, more stereotypes. People who are considered "severe" can and do post on forums. Check out Carly Fleischmann, Amanda Baggs, Larry and Tracy from Wretches and Jabberers.

I guess I'm moderate. I have my mild moments and my severe moments to be sure, but I'm basically somewhere in the middle of things.

I've heard of 2 of them actually (I think), & I remember being really amaxed by Carly & Amanda (Carly especiely) when she managed to communicate through typing, but I do understand that just because someones severe, doesn't mean they're stupid! When I was younger; I was considdered severe, but I could still think. Check out this video - http://www.godtube.com/watch/?v=KLDGGWNX; it shows how many severely autistic people see the world.

It makes sense that PDDNOS would be the largest group seeing as how it that is everyone who is on the spectrum that doesn't fit into the neat little box of Aspergers or classic Autism. I've read before that Aspergers is more rare than classic Autism; however, I read in a recent study that showed Aspergers is actually more common, it just hasn't been diagnosed more often yet because it is newer. It does occur more often in the population though.

For whoever said Tourettes: that is definitely not on the spectrum. TS is something else entirely, though people can have both an ASD and TS. *EDIT: just saw this was already corrected, and responded to.*

Also, it is important to note that Rett's is being removed from the spectrum, so I do not refer to that as an ASD anymore.

HFA is ambiguous. It can mean a variety of things. It could be someone with classic autism who is on the high-functioning end of the spectrum. Or it could be someone with another ASD such as PDDNOS or Aspergers which both fall on the high-functioning end of the spectrum. There is NO disorder called HFA. It is not AD, AS, PDDNOS, and HFA. It is JUST AD, AS, and PDDNOS. HFA can officially be in any of those three categories depending on what definition the psych is using for it. You CAN have classic autism and be HFA. That is likely the case with you. You qualified for a classic autism diagnosis as a child, but maybe you were more severe back then (I am not saying LFA, just more severe than today). If you qualified back then for classic autism, then you have classic autism, but would be high-functioning today. It is a term used by psychs, but it is not an official diagnostic term. Do not believe this? All you need to do is look in the DSM for HFA diagnostic criteria. Trust me, you will NOT find it in there! That does not mean that the psychs will not use it to help them classify you and clarify where you are on the spectrum. When I was diagnosed, I was told I am high-functioning as opposed to low-functioning, but that I have moderate classic autism.

Last edited by littlelily613 on 11 Aug 2011, 4:51 pm, edited 1 time in total.