As of 2010, the difference between Asperger's and HFA?

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Please excuse me if this has been recently covered in another thread.... I'm really confused about what (if any), are the actual differences between Asperger's and High Functioning Autism. My psychiatrist says Asperger's for me, but she also says that others might say HFA, and her explanation of the difference is only in words and in textbooks written by rival professionals. When I asked her to clarify, she said in fact I can call it either one.

What does the population here at WP say on this?

Charles

I thought the difference was based on cognitive functioning? Back in 2004 I got the label of 'higher functioning autistic' and heard the other term fly out of the doc's mouth, I don't know exactly what he said but I heard both during the visit. I seem to get the impression that they are more or less the same thing. I'd really like to know so that I can go change the diagnosis tab in my profile.....

The commonly observed difference is that with HFA you had a delay in speech while in Aspergers you did not.

Thanks for the input so far... If indeed that's it, I'm clearly Asperger's. I spoke and formed sentences very early, in fact as to amaze my family and my pediatrician, so they said. However, I do have very vivid memories of frustration in early childhood, prior to my ability to speak, of wanting to communicate or ask things that I couldn't yet. So for me personally, I guess that was delayed speech, but very early for what is perceived as "normal".

My most vivid memory of that frustration is probably that I wanted to know why and how, people were on TV and they weren't inside the box obviously to me. I remember trying to ask about it and didn't know how to form a question.

Charles

There is no difference. This is tony attwood's opinion expressed in the complete guide to asperger's syndrome. I agree with it.
He commented that someone who fit a diagnosis of autism could adapt well enough to be classified as high functioning in later life.
Whereas others would not meet the full diagnosis for autism, but do meet high functioning or asperger's syndrome from early in life.

They are the EXACT SAME THING. Scientific studies prove it, see here.

I was pretty much told by my state's Autism support group (TEACCH) that HFA, AS, and PDD-NOS are the same, it just depends on what aspect is concerned: AS - Social, HFA - Speech/Communication, PDD-NOS - Learning (concern meaning that the dx is for each focuses on the stated aspect to determine yay or nay). This group pretty much lumps all of these together as "Mild Autism."

I voted the first answer. Actually, I think that there really isn't a distinct difference as far as diagnostic criteria, there is a difference in how the terms are used. But, sometimes that's a difference in focus, rather than looking at different groups of people, so that there really isn't much difference, and the biggest difference between autism and Asperger's being that autism includes lower level functioning people that Asperger's does not.