The original name of AS

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apparently, before the term "asperger's syndrome" was used, the term for us were "autistic psychopaths", as used by hans asperger back in 1944.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hans_Asperger

Autistic psychopath just sounds way more awesome, but I bet we would have even fewer friends if that were still in use.

Social deficit disorder would be better. :\

I know that name doesn't really cover all of what AS is but it's far better than ass burgers.

I don't like that at all. I may have problems expressing my emotions to others, but by no means am I a psychopath. I much prefer the term "Asperger's" to that.

I think that AS is the better choice. Psychopath anything just sounds downright bad. It's hard enough living as it is without the psycho label being added on.

"Psychopath" simply meant personality disorder.

I think "autistic disorder" would be better than Asperger's. I don't really see it as a social deficit, or being defined by such - the diagnostics do, which is frustrating as there's a lot more going on.

These days "psychopath" implies something far more sinister than a personality disorder. Does anybody really want to be thought of as a psychopath? Maybe the truly psychopathic person because they don't care and relish what they've done.

It just sounds like the name of a horror movie series...

'Autistic Psychopath'

'Revenge of the Autistic Psychopath'

'The Autistic Psychopath Lives'

And finally...

'Autistic Psychopath: The Final Chapter'

Last edited by eddie82 on 01 Mar 2011, 11:00 pm, edited 1 time in total.

Yeah, I meant when Asperger named the condition, it had a specific - long outdated - meaning. He wasn't saying what it might sound like he was saying.

Yeah, Verdandi is right. HANS called it "Autistischen Psychopathen"! That translates to autistic psychopathy which translates to autistic disorder! Since ANOTHER person, Kanner, discovered a SIMILAR disorder and ALSO called it autism, they had to change the names! Kanner's became Kanner's, aka Classic Autism, aka Autism. Asperger's became Asperger's.

But BOTH are a type of autism. BOTH describe, through the name autism, a kind of lack of socialization, etc... Kanner's has, historically, been a very LOW FUNCTIONING autism, though in like 1980, it was broadend.

these days, "psychopath" and "sociopath" are both listed as forms of anti-social personality disorder

That last bit isn't true. Kanner's subjects were almost all high-functioning. Verbal and some went to college. Most were smart.

Yep. In fact, I looked up my "Shorter Oxford Dictionary" (SOD) that I bought back in the 1980s, and the only definition it had for "psychopathy" was "mental disorder" and similar very general terms. There was no indication that it knew about the highly specialised meaning we attach to the term today. Admittedly, the SOD takes its time to recognise new words and meanings, but it shows that the English language itself has changed the meaning of that term.

Auties and Aspies are not psychopaths (in the modern sense of the term). Research shows that people on the spectrum are more likely to be victims of violence than perpetrators of violence, and we are no more violent than NTs. Compared to other people on the spectrum, violent people with ASDs are more likely to have other conditions as well that are associated with increased criminality, such as Conduct Disorder.

Well, psychopathy could come across as "mind disease", but that isn't how it really translates. But psycho DOES mean mind, so psychologist means one that studies the mind, and psychiatrist means like one that treats the mind. And pathy DOES mean disease like nephropathy means kidney disease, and encephalopathy means brain disease.

Words just get funny. So sociopath might mean social disease. That sounds more like an STD than anything else.

DandelionFireworks,

If I am wrong, sorry. But that doesn't make sense given the common understanding of the disorder, and the split meanings. I mean if it WERE as you said, wouldn't they have been combined earlier?

Thanks! have to add, though: Kanner had several children who would fit the criteria for Asperger's Syndrome quite easily. Those you might call "low-functioning" were preferentially diagnosed with something like childhood schizophrenia. Expanding "autism" to include more severely autistic children was actually a fairly controversial move.

Look at anbuend's post on this page: http://www.wrongplanet.net/postxf132232-0-45.html

Explains everything.