Why is Aspergers on the spectrum?

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Great question. Sadly, it seems that more people are of a mind to let the impaired stay on the margins of society. It costs too much to keep then within so they push them out.

great point...I would hope more solutions are on the way but I have no idea- we're certainly no utopian...on any part of the earth.

I wonder....mayb this is a good new topic...maybe already been discussed- where is the best place for someone with autism to live?

the main differences between aspergers and classic autism is the communication category of the diagnostic criteria that is found in classic but not in aspergers, and that aspergers requires no cognitive impairment. a huge number of people, diagnostic professionals included, erroneously assume that no speech delay = aspergers, or even no cognitive impairment = aspergers. that is defiitely not true. classic autistics can be average or above average in cognitive ability and can also have near or normal general speech development. in the communication category, there are 3 other criteria besides speech delay that would fulfill that requirement and those are 1) impairment in the ability to initiate or sustain conversation, 2) stereotyped and repetitive use of language or idiosyncratic language, or 3) lack of varied, spontaneous make-believe play or social imitative play.

i completely agree that a lot of people are misdiagnosed aspergers, my son is one of them. i believe his diagnosis was wrong because of those previously mentioned assumptions. his IQ tests in the superior range and his speech was slightly delayed but not "significantly", so he was classified as aspergers. the truth tho is that he fulfills all 3 of the other communication criteria, and therefore should be diagnosed autistic disorder.

one other big difference between the two, and probably the most overlooked diagnostic criteria for people being misdiagnosed, is that the final criteria in aspergers is that the patient does not meet the criteria for any other pdd. so its not really a precedence issue, but rather if a person fulfills the diagnostic criteria for autistic disorder, they therefore CANNOT fulfill the criteria for aspergers.

i also think sometimes the misdiagnosis is purposeful, as many care providers look more favorably on the diagnosis of aspergers than of classic autism, especially since there is no distinction in the diagnosis of functioning level. aspergers is seen as "mild" and therefore better to have than classic autism. thats not true either, but its often what we hear from medical and school personnel.