Why is "Asperger's" considered a form of Autism?

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Doesn't Rett's Syndrome belong in that list also?

He can't dress himself, shop, or prepare food for himself? I am sorry but that isn't what I consider "high functioning". The basic difference is that Autistics are largely non-verbal and tend to have below average IQs; however they have few, if any non-verbal difficulties. Those with AS typically are verbose and tend to be linguistically and mathematically gifted coupled with difficulties in the visual spatial aspect of intelligence.

There are some people with AS who can't dress themselves, prepare food or shop. I couldn't dress myself at 8. I hate going into super markets, because of social awkwardness and sensory issues. And I can cook few dishes. I'm not exactly verbose or linguistically or mathematically gifted. Yet I have AS?

These statements don't apply to the entire AS population as a whole but that's what I have noticed in general. Cooking is simple if you know how to follow directions and watch what you're doing when there are none to come by. Dressing yourself is a no-brainer, especially considering the implied age of the cousin in question.

One thing I will NEVER get is how so many dare to even be called "experts". If "expert" A says D and "expert" B says C and D is the opposite of C, then HOW could you claim A and B are both experts? That basically implies that ALL are right and that means everyone is an expert. If that is the case, how could any be?

CASE in point? You say "there's my son, who is high functioning autism, and he has been successfully living and working on his own for quite some time now. In fact, it is not obvious that he has any form of autism". SO WHAT!?!?!?!? High Functioning autism has NO ceiling, and specifies no such limitations. IT, however, ALSO says NOTHING about them having ANY such abilities! The only floor, for HFA, is an IQ above like 70.

NOW for the nail in the coffin!! !! You said...." I have a cousin with Aspergers' who will probably never be able to live on his own. He can't dress himself, shop, prepare food for himself, etc. ". WRONG! AS HAS A FLOOR, and your cousin is BELOW IT! He should NOT have been diagnosed AS. People with AS are NOT supposed to have a clinically significant deficit in cognitive abilities(besides social), OR SELF HELP SKILLS!! !! !!

ACTUALLY, it is more like:

Autism.......KANNERS
>>>>>>>>LFA................................HFA..........................
Autism.......ASPERGERS
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>.....................
Autism.......PDD-NOS
>>>>>>>>....................................................................
Realtive IQ
.................<70................................>70 ...^..............>150
.................................................................NORMAL(80-120)

The dots indicate the relative ability. so PDD-NOS covers the WHOLE spectrum! LFA covers the LOW end. HFA covers the high end. AS starts higher up than HFA.

That is not what the DSM sets out. Some physicians follow the DSM, some do not. In my instance, because I was assessed by someone who follows the DSM, severity was not a factor in which dx I was given, but rather the decision to go with AS was decided on the basis of early language development.

Severity was assessed separately and addressed as an issue separate to which diagnosis should be given.

aspergers most ppl see as more quirkly socially awkward, while autism seem more off in their own world, socially inept. aspergers usually has more severe "problems" socializing, while somebody with autism has "lack" of socializing, its just not always there. autism usually means lack of self help skills, while aspergers struggle more. ITs like autism lacks a lot and aspergers has serious problems with a lot. is there a huge difference sometimes yes, sometimes no. pddnos is not always mild, sometimes pddnos can seem more severe then autism.

i rock and sway back and forth in public, flap, screech really loud, jump, spin, have no care of what ppl think or say, no anxiety, just sorta do my own thing, if i dont usually socialize, but if i do come in contact with somebody i jus shake their hands and call them david or say ello and walk away, or i make them shake me or squeeze my head haha, or make them clap their hands. if im standing around a bunch of ppl i jus rock and stare at the lights or the moon giggling my head off, or i wander off play with sticks lol, bite my hand, run back and forth while flapping, most of the time im just in my own world. does that means i'm nessacerily more severe then somebody wiht aspergers in a social situation, no just means i'm lacking so much while somebody with aspergers will probably get a lot of anxiety and are more prone to melting down later on or more prone to be seen as an outcast which is in some ways is much more severe then somebody with autism. If youd think about it, whats harder a person who wants to socialize, trying so hard, seeming so confusing, strugglin with each and every social thing like sarcasm, jokes, when to talk, when not to talk, how to start a convo, how to keep a convo, eye contact, etc, or somebody who just is off in their own world staring at their hands as their flapping them really fast in circles? I think that is why they call aspergers a form of autism, their still affected but more along the lines of being involved in this world not their own which in a lot of ways makes them seem more handicapped, while somebody with autism just is in their own world. does that make any sense am i making sense somebody please say yes lolol.

anyways i havent posted in awhile, idk why either haha, but im slowly coming back hehe.

I know...I am having trouble with how people define autism and Asperger's, too. My HFA son was nonverbal until the age of 5 or so. But he is extremely intelligent and is bilingual. He is gifted with language, but just doesn't prefer the company of people. My Asperger's son did not have the language delay, and yet he has more problems than his brother.

I did read that Asperger's is considered the same as HFA, but as you said about my cousin, there are severe forms of Asperger's.

The way I see it, Asperger's is autism. Like another poster said, it has a whole range of severity. The only thing it is lacking, according to experts, is the language delay.

I am very envious of that ability not to care. I try very, very hard to be able to make friends, but I find people almost universally find me frightening, and I am alone. I think this is in part because I am a man so my "strange" behavior makes me more threatening, as opposed to a short woman just being "quirky."

Nonetheless I am envious of your ability not to care what people think of you. I have studied social interactions at length, and one of the ironies I have learned is that when you stop caring what other people think of you, it actually makes them more likely to relax around you anyways.

So your lack of anxiety not only allows you to be happier, it also makes you able to "fit in" better as well. So to speak.

When I think other people are afraid of me it brings me incredibly pain. I want to let go of that. I try to not care too much about what other people think of me (I feel it is best if a care at least somewhat what they think of me, but I shouldn't obsess) But I haven't been able to let go yet.

In a very real way, you are lucky.

btw Your description reminds me of the character "Phoebe" on friends. And there are worse things in life to be than Phoebe, she is very happy and confident.

Your post and its content makes perfect sense Age1600.

I also find the definition troublesome. I wish we had another word, many differnet words, for the different levels of severity. I go to college, read, have girlfriends, and can function at a high level. It is very hard for me to do this, I seem to suffer most of the sypmtoms of Asperger's, so I think I have it, it's just that sometimes, after extreme study I am able to simulate skills that seem to come naturally to other people. but I do not feel "autisitc."

I remember the brother of a friend of mine growing up who was autistic. He was like a giant baby, he made shrieking sounds when he got upset, and he rarely knew where he was. He lives in an institution and is totally unable to take care of himself.

It may sound terrible of me to say this: but I just don't want to think of myself as having the same thing he has. I do not want to be a simply "less severe" case than that. I want to feel like I'm something totally different. When i hear it described that way, it makes me feel like some sort of mutant.

My heart goes out to extreme cases of autism like my friends brother. But it seems counterproductive to me that I categorize myself as so similar to that in my mind. I find it depressing.

I feel guilty for saying this, I feel like in some way it makes me a bad person. But it is the truth.

yes in some ways i am luckier because i just have no care for it, i dont play much into the whole socializing things, but off in my own world that much is not good, sometimes i have times where i wish i was more involved with socializing, at least i wouldnt be seen as mentally ret*d or a potted tree haha. u have no idea how many ppl talk like im a 3rd person not even really there like im jus some object in the backround, or when they do talk to me act like i dont understant the words "h-e-l-l-o h-o-w a-r-e y-o-u honeyyy" in this high pitched baby voice. Sometimes i wonder what the hell is wrong with ppl haha, its like nonverbal means dumb, no it doesnt far from it actually, just because my verbal speech may serious suck somtimes that its not even there doesnt mean my brain isnt there, or that i dont know whats going on, or just because im sittin there rocking and flapping screeching as i watch cars go by because i loove to watch the tires spin haha yes im weird lol, i'm seen as mentally ret*d. so yes i am luckier in ways i dont have to struggle or fight so hard, but in other ways it sucks.

Age1600

What you are describing is fascinating (and also dramatacially different than I am)

Are you better able to type than communicate verbally? Because your typing seems very clear and I am able to understand you perfectly.

yea typing comes easy to me, i love typing, and sign language, such happiness haha, i use a lot of sign. i can speak though, sometimes hold a conversation, but lots of times its phrases, short sentences or random words haha, also made up language. i notice though i repeat a lot from random movie quotes that replay in my head or random parts of a song, like today i was listenin to 'this is me' by demi lavoto lol ok im a disney fan hehe gotta admit it haha, anyways and all i kept saying over and over and over and over was this is me this is me this is me, that was my speech for a lot of the day haha, idk why.

thank you pandd hehehe